Earlier this month, Moody’s Investor Services, one of the major credit ratings along with Fitch and Standard & Poor’s, upgraded the Philippine’s credit rating from Ba1 (below investment grade) to Baa3 (initial investment grade). This means that more investors will be encouraged to invest in our economy thus subsequently resulting to a better standard of living for everyone.
Of course, this is more complicated than that. But based on this article, the effects of the upgrade will first be felt by major corporations the likes of SM and Ayala whose net incomes will increase which would allow them to create more jobs, give better salaries and offer more competitive prices. The end result will be a more sustainable life for the common Juan. However, it may take years before the ordinary Pinoy, who is at the end of the “food chain”, can experience the ripple effect caused by the credit rating upgrade.
But why did Moody, Fitch and S&P gave credit upgrades to the Philippines? Reasons most common cited for this increase in investor’s confidence are the better fiscal management by the government which resulted to high GDP rates, low debt to GDP ratios and well anchored CPI inflation levels. If the economic reports are to be our basis, it would seem that Pres. Aquino is doing something right in his administration.
However, as of last week, Pres. Aquino’s net satisfaction rating dips to 15 points according to a recent SWS survey. Why the dip when the Philippine economy appears to be in an upward trend?
The public’s outrage over the pork barrel scam and Aquino’s apparent indecision towards the abolition of PDAF aka pork barrel is blamed to be the cause of most of the public’s outrage. The ratings are further aggravated by the DAP issue.
Apparently, despite the promising outlook for the country’s economy, there remains to be a gap between the public’s perception of the Aquino administration’s efforts in improving our economic status and in managing the levels of political corruption.
However, if I were to be asked, despite the issue over the pork barrel scam, I remain satisfied with Aquino’s governance of our country. The three credit rating upgrades we received from major credit rating companies are a testament to the confidence of investors in our economy which they wouldn’t have if they saw that the present government is unable to resolve the long curse of corruption plaguing our country. I believe that the Aquino administration’s staunch stand towards the “tuwid na daan” has paved the way for the exposure of the pork barrel scam and other scams involving high-level public officials. I believe that it is because of this exposés that has made investors see how serious the present administration is in pursuing corrupt officials. As such, even if all of the scandals seem to make our country look bad, it actually raises investors’ confidence in doing business with our market.
But I understand how the current corruption exposés would elicit anger from the public. Being a taxpayer myself, I can’t begin to imagine how people like Napoles can take it in their conscience to spend vulgarly public funds which are from the hard-earned money of every taxpayer and deprive the really needy citizens who would have benefited from the proceeds of the government funds they amassed for themselves.
At the end of the day though, I think, it all boils down to a question of what the common masses have felt and experienced first hand? Are they experiencing the effects of the credit rating upgrade? I doubt if the high prices of commodities and the sub-par salaries are to be considered. Are they experiencing the effects of corrupted funds? I believe so if we take a look at substandard government projects and the high incidence of poverty level in the country.
The credit rating upgrade’s effects will be felt years from now but the effects of corrupted public funds are apparent in our daily lives. Hence, the decrease in Aquino’s net satisfaction rating despite the increase in our credit rating.
A Supreme Court Justice has been impeached. A former President has been arrested. Earlier, an Ombudsman head has been sacked. The former COMELEC Commissioner has also been detained. What else is next?
176 Signatures From Congress Gathered within a Day for Corona's Impeachment
In the past months, the Aquino administration has indeed made it a point to eliminate from any seat of power people who had ties with the former administration. In the pursuit of a “tuwid na daan” the seats of power has been cleansed and purged despite the threats of economic meltdown. (A robust economy is apparently not the priority). I guess pursuing after the right path comes with a cost.
There are those that say that the speed by which Corona has been impeached clearly marks the influence PNoy has on Congress. With the SC Justice gone, there is the possibility that the Supreme Court would also come under PNoy’s influence. Some fear the democratic government which enjoyed equality of the 3 branches would fall into a silent autocracy with 1 branch having pronounced influence in the other 2.
But haven’t it always worked that way? Of course in each branch there are those labelled as opposition thus balancing the act but isn’t it that in the end, the more powerful branch, usually the Executive, is able to get away with what he wants irregardless of the opinions of the other 2 branches? Case in point: GMA and her various criminal allegations gone unpunished and unquestioned until now when the tables has obviously turned against her favor.
Frankly, I don’t feel any remorse for the Chief Justice who was the one who left the Vizconde massacre unsolved despite the 20 years of elusive justice. I don’t feel any allegiance to a Chief Justice who is labelled as a Midnight Appointee of a former president now being tried for her crimes. I don’t trust a Chief Justice who would allow an obvious escape plan of a highly suspected criminal to be put into motion i.e. issuing a TRO against GMA’s watch list order.
Corona: GMA's Midnight Appointee?
But then, I also don’t have much respect for law makers tasked to come up with laws that are supposed to put the country in a more progressive state but really has contributed more to its demise. Case in point: Duwang Camarines. (The Congress has voted in favor of it). Dynasty Rule. (No one has really come up with a law against it).
What I do respect and believe in is justice. Justice, in her own mysterious ways above the powers of man, making her presence felt. It’s about time GMA is tried and punished for her crimes. Her husband would come next. Her cronies and allies are already one by one being arrested. As they say, those who side with evil are eventually punished.
It may be a rough and dark “tuwid na daan” (what could we expect really?) but if it comes down to cleaning the present political scenario of the country or at least proving to jaded Pinoys that this country really has a shot at a clean politics, then I guess it’s worth it. Just so long as whatever skeletons in the closet the present President has must also be dealt accordingly and fairly (paging Hacienda Luisita Issue). Bias must not play a part in any way for any party.
For me, prosecuting those who are at fault and serving real justice is enough accomplishment for PNoy’s 1 1/2 years in office. But it doesn’t end there. Cleaning up the system has a long way to go and eventually other aspects of society – economy, basic necessities, etc. would be crying out for attention – “tuwid or baku-baku na daan” alike.
It’s really sad how Angelo Reyes met his fate. When I read his bio in Wikipedia and saw pictures from his past in TV Patrol last night, I found myself lamenting the loss of such a great fellow – such skills and talents wasted by a bullet through the heart.
It was such an unforeseen tragedy that the whole household was a buzz as to the reasons behind his final act. Perhaps Angelo Reyes didn’t want to accept the bribes but was forced to do so because that was part of the trade he was in. Perhaps if he didn’t accept the bribes his family would be in jeopardy. It is undeniable that there was corruption involved. For us, that is a fact not just mere superstition. There really was bribery at the top ranks of the AFP, and not just there, but in many other echelons of the government. It is a sad story but it is true. Philippine government, and even society at large, is I daresay full of corruption.
So suppose here is Reyes, a decent man, not highly spiritual as Lozada, but nonetheless decent. He ascends to the highest rank of the Armed Forces and finds himself on a tight spot where he needs to choose between morality (and his integrity) and some other thing – perhaps his moral army code (obey first before you complain and the officer is always right) or the safety of his family. It’s clear which Reyes choose.
But then, there is his conscience to deal with. Seeing the interior of his house, I doubt he was able to enjoy much of the money he received. If he lived in a mansion or if he had luxury cars, then I would reconsider my stand but I saw in his interviews that his house is just modest for the type of man that he is. He had no excessive travels abroad. He doesn’t have cars to boast of. He lived a pretty decent and simple lifestyle.
So where did all the money he supposedly took went? In a savings account to be used after his retirement? In investments that would ensure a well-provided life for his kids? Or in unknown charities?
During the proceedings in senate he was very adamant that he was not “GANID”; was not “SWAPANG”. And he said those statements in a very angry and agitated voice. Apparently he was fighting that yes he might have took the money but he did not want it. And who are we to really question his motives?
It can be recalled that he resigned at the height of the Oakwood mutiny. Apparently, his demeanor of handling conflicts such as scandals are very low. Perhaps, being an honest man, a breach into his conscience would trigger a barrage of admissions. And a barrage of admissions from such a powerful man as he would start the prosecution of the high class criminals of this country.
And so he decided to kill the truth with himself. Faced with the pressure of starting that chain of prosecutions and the stress of his own family’s safety, he chose to end his life. The money he supposedly received either stacked somewhere safe being spent wisely (in charities, in investments, in whatever) and the other high end officials safe in their secrets once more.
But if there is anything to be learned from all this, it is that the old-age saying Walang baho ang hindi umaalisngaw is true. No secrets are forever safe unless you take it to the grave. And so all our corrupt officials – whether ex-presidents, ex-Army chiefs, or even the ex-mayor – are no longer safe in Aquino’s campaign of ending the reign of corruption in this country. We may see more of this scenario in the future – guilty ones ending their lives or turning against their friends and spilling their guts. It is a harsh reality but if it would purge this country of the evil that has wrought it for so many years, then it is a necessary sacrifice.
Ngayon natutuwa ako may kuryente na. Kalahating araw din ako nagtyaga sa init at buti na lang may Bob Ong akong binabasa kaya hindi ako bored. Pinagpapawisan lang ng sobra.
Bakit nga ba sa isang bansa na mayaman sa yamang natural kagaya ng geothermal energy na ginagamit sa electricity, eh uso ang brownout. Yung brownout na pangmatagalan – mga kalahati hanggang isang buong araw? At para sa taong nakatira sa Bicol, kung saan merong isang malaking geothermal plant, bakit madalas padin mawalan ng kuryente?
transformers - ng kuryente, hindi ung pelikula
Sabi nila maintenance daw. Upkeeping. Bakit napakadalas naman yata. Kahit sa trabaho ko, madalas mangyari ang fluctuation ng kuryente. Buti na lang may generator at mga UPS ang mga phone at computer. Kung hindi laking abala sa trabaho ang brownout.
Hindi ko rin alam ang sagot dito. Kaya nga nagtatanong ako. Hindi ko alam kung ano ang problema ng bansa kung bakit sikat na sikat sa atin ang brownout. Ine-export ba natin ang kuryente kaya sub-standard lang ang napupunta satin? Don’t tell me, ine-export natin ang geothermal energy sa bansa tapos mag-iimport tayo ng kuryente. Parang rice lang ata ang ganon. O di kaya sapatos or RTW.
Mayaman ang Pilipinas. Kung resources lang ang pag-uusapan. Sabi ng isa kong kaibigan na architect, lahat daw ng importanteng bato sa mundo gaya ng copper, gold, silver, iron, etc. ay meron sa Pilipinas. Kaya nga ang daming isyu ng mining dito. Madami rin quality goods gaya ng sapatos at RTW ang sa Pilipinas mina-manufacture. Hindi lang yan, pati produce gaya ng rice, crops at fruits, madami din tayo. Lahat ata yan napag-aaralan sa HEKASI sa elementary.
Tiwi Geothermal Plant
Pero ang pinagtataka ko, kung madami pala tayo ng ganun, bakit tayo mahirap? Bakit madaming Pilipino na mahirap pa sa daga ang buhay at nagpupumilit mag-abroad kung gayong madami palang natural resources ang pwedeng pagkakitaan?
Simple lang ata ang sagot dito. Dahil lahat ng income or revenues napupunta sa malalaking kumpanya na humahawak sa mga di-hamak na empleyadong Pinoy. Multi-national companies na ata ang nagkokontrol ng pag-process ng natural resources ng bansa, para i-export sa ibang bansa, na i-import ulit ng Pilipinas at bibilhin ng mga Pilipino sa mas mahal na halaga. Ganon ata ang cycle kaya mahirap pa rin tayo.
O baka naman hindi lang talaga maayos na na-explore ang mga natural resources? Or baka naman na-exploit na sila at ubos na.
mga nakakalbong kagubatan
Pili ka na lang ng gusto mong explenasyon. Basta ang akin, mahirap parin tayo, mahal pa rin ang bilihin at palagi parin brownout. Buti na lang may kuryente na ngayon. Makapag-laro na lang sa PC. Mapakinabangan man lang ang kuryente na ang mahal ng singil.
In the five years that I’ve resided in Manila, I am thankful that I’ve never had the unfortunate experience of being face to face with crime. Perhaps the nearest thing I’ve witnessed to be criminal were the aftermath of a raid done by MMDA on Philcoa sidewalk vendors during one late night – and I was supposed to have been in the middle of the bustle if I had decided to make my purchase from those sidewalk vendors than brave the long line of the nearby Mercury Drug Grocery store.
Yet I’ve heard tales of my friends about how they’ve lost their cellphones to snatchers with the most horrific being one wherein they were attacked by muggers while aboard a UP-SM North jeep. I’ve read and heard of stories about students being shot while on campus, girls being raped and thrown in abandoned grassy creeks, of innocent students being mugged while crossing the overpass late at night and countless other horror stories of crime committed by the Manila criminal society. I have heard their stories, witnessed the telltale signs in their bodies and properties but I have never – for once in my entire life in Manila – encountered a single criminal soul. I have braved the twist and turns of the Binondo streets alone – a place I am utterly unfamiliar with – and though I have seen suspicious looking individuals, the most harrowing experience I could speak of were merely snide remarks and insults – nothing that is at all criminal and worthy of police attention.
Some might say I’m lucky. Some might say I’m fortunate. I say I am blessed and well-protected.
Yet the fact and reality of crime still remains in my consciousness and I forever remain vigilant about it. Even now that I live in the province, where one might argue the crime rate is relatively low compared to Manila, I am still on guard. For I’ve been told that criminals here are more aggressive – not really taking time to consider who it is they would rob or assault. I have a friend who told me he was mugged once and when he eventually gave up his cellphone, the mugger was disappointed with the cellphone’s model that the mugger even had the nerve to insult my friend. The cellphone was a very old and dilapidated Nokia 3315. That’s why if I was vigilant while I was in Manila, I am doubly so now that I am in Naga.
An article I read in Peyups.com today brought into mind the reality of the criminal society of the Philippines. There were times that this criminal society seemed to have existed, for me, in a fantasy world of evil since I have never really encountered any of their members. Yet that article, in a very well-written showcase of words, brought this reality into more detailed attention in my consciousness than all the newspaper articles I’ve read or the television news segments I’ve watched about the escapades of the criminal constituents of the country.
The article had greatly captured the feelings of one who’ve had one too many brushed up with Manila’s ruffians that fear had forever been instilled in her heart and in her mind. And the greatest part of the article was the author’s stand on why such things happen in our country and why they will forever remain part of our society.
Poverty.
The affliction that has been afflicting us since the dawn of time; since we’ve become slaves of colonizers and neo-colonizers alike; since we’ve lost all sense of self-identity and have become enamored with the culture of foreigners.
Poverty.
We’ve been its slave for decades now, maybe even centuries. Thousands of politicians, from the smallest barangay captain to the highest position on the land, the President, had attempted to alleviate it, but to no avail.
Poverty.
The root of all evil and all other afflictions in our country – malnutrition, overpopulation, unemployment, illiteracy, pollution, and most of all CRIME.
When will we ever solve this one? When will we ever be rid of it?
I agree with the author of that Peyups.com article that it is not the criminal’s sole fault that they could not see that the people they are robbing or assaulting are themselves, struggling with their own kind of poverty or are themselves impoverished yet had merely chosen to alleviate their suffering through legitimate means. Indeed it is not those criminal’s fault that they had to turn into the illegal just to survive in this world. They are after all just by-products of an older generation of criminals who taught them the criminal way to survive in this jungle. Who knows if they could have been decent citizens of this land but because of the dire circumstances of their lives they’ve been forced to become hardened criminals.
Who indeed is to blame for all of this? Is it them? Is is the government? Or is it us, as a nation and as individuals?
We blame them because they don’t try to become decent. They don’t try to find decent jobs and earn decent living. They don’t try to reform. They don’t consider others’ situations or predicaments.
We blame the government because they corrupt what should have been public funds aimed at improving public lives. They do not stick true with their promises of better lives and improved conditions. They are just full of themselves and all they really care about is their own personal gain.
But then again how can a starving man with a starving family to feed even think of decency in the light of his grumbling stomach. For a lot of people morality or conscience is almost non-existent when faced with the reality of his harsh environment. And then how can politicians really carry out their idealistic reforms when by the time they assume office, even the most decent ones become swept away by the rampant corruption of their colleagues? You see corruption is so deeply rooted that even the most honest men become eventually snared into it.
And so we take a look at the real root of the situation – what have we made of ourselves as a nation, as citizens of this country? How do we really perceive our society? Hopeless? Beyond redemption? Destined for the pits? Something we would gladly forsake and leave given the opportunity to seek greener pastures?
What do we perceive of our race or our identity as Filipinos? Something to be proud of only when Manny Pacquiao wins a fight but something to totally despise of when we learned that we have yet slipped a notch higher in the world’s list of most corrupt nations or become part of the world’s most dangerous countries? Can we not have a better sense of patriotism or nationalism? One which would lead us to critically analyze our government officials or the people we elect into office? One which would make us vigilant of guarding the outcome of our votes – not just when they are being tallied but when they really materialize into the officials we’ve voted for and hoped to have their reforms and plans realized.
Yes, most if not all our politicians are trapo, but some of them I believe are just forced to be trapo because if they don’t then they wouldn’t really have any chance against their real trapo counterparts. And so in the end the choice is still left to us, to decide which of them we would really vote for – to discern which of them is really worthy of our hope.
And hopefully, the person we do elect into office, any of the public office that is, is someone who could, even for just a fraction, make us feel safe in this crime-ridden land due to impoverished lives.
How desperate can our custom officials be to become millionaires, I cannot entirely fathom. How stupid they can get in their bid to corrupt public funds, I cannot entirely imagine.
Their latest stint was the breach of the UN world pact forged in 1950 wherein it was agreed upon that reading and cultural materials would be exempted from import duties. The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is now imposing fees on any shipments of imported books or other cultural materials. Indeed this is alarming and this may well account for the fact that the number of imported books out in the market are limited. And we can feel this deficit in the fact that popular books like the Twilight saga are so hard to obtain.
I applaud (sarcastic) the official or officials who conceived of this idea of imposing fees to imported books, he or she or they haven’t failed to identify a marketable oppurtunity and cash in on it. I pity the book retailers who have to pay exhorbitant fees – both legal and under the table – just to get their shipment of imported books released to them.
Of course such circumstances have its positive and negative effects, as all circumstances are. Stemming the tide of imported books in the market brings to attention local books and boosts the local publishing industry. However, there seems to be more negative consequences than positive ones. For one, this further encourages the proliferations of pirated book copies in the forms of e-books and printed e-books. Of course, I admit that I also have my own collection of e-books. But I still prefer collecting the hard copies of the books over their poorly-typed electronic versions.
Perhaps the most important downside is the fact that all this efforts at imposing fees on imported books for the sake of earning some additional personal dough, makes readers and would-be readers less enthusiastic to read printed literature. All this selfish attempt to increase personal wealth devoids the current and future generation the opputunity to enrich their minds and cultural experiences.
In an age wherein old-fashioned reading has to compete with cyber technology, what the BOC did is indeed an insult to the intellectual priviledges of the Filipino people.
How desperate can our custom officials be to become millionaires, I cannot entirely fathom. How stupid they can get in their bid to corrupt public funds, I cannot entirely imagine.
Their latest stint was the breach of the UN world pact forged in 1950 wherein it was agreed upon that reading and cultural materials would be exempted from import duties. The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is now imposing fees on any shipments of imported books or other cultural materials. Indeed this is alarming and this may well account for the fact that the number of imported books out in the market are limited. And we can feel this deficit in the fact that popular books like the Twilight saga are so hard to obtain.
I applaud (sarcastic) the official or officials who conceived of this idea of imposing fees to imported books, he or she or they haven’t failed to identify a marketable opportunity and cash in on it. I pity the book retailers who have to pay exorbitant fees – both legal and under the table – just to get their shipment of imported books released to them.
Of course such circumstances have its positive and negative effects, as all circumstances are. Stemming the tide of imported books in the market brings to attention local books and boosts the local publishing industry. However, there seems to be more negative consequences than positive ones. For one, this further encourages the proliferation of pirated book copies in the forms of e-books and printed e-books. Of course, I admit that I also have my own collection of e-books. But I still prefer collecting the hard copies of the books over their poorly-typed electronic versions.
Perhaps the most important downside is the fact that all this efforts at imposing fees on imported books for the sake of earning some additional personal dough, makes readers and would-be readers less enthusiastic to read printed literature. All this selfish attempts to increase personal wealth devoid the current and future generation the opportunity to enrich their minds and cultural experiences.
In an age wherein old-fashioned reading has to compete with cyber technology, what the BOC did is indeed an insult to the intellectual privileges of the Filipino people.
Sometimes I wonder if there is a nobler reason why I chose to work in Bicol despite having been educated in Manila. A lot of people who’ve learned I studied in UP would ask me why I went back to Bicol to work. Their faces are lined with disbelief at what they think is a waste of education and opportunities on my part.
I would usually answer this people the most basic reason why I left Manila – I am sick and tired of living there. I have no intentions of facing the Manila rush hour traffic, of cramming myself in the sardine-pack railways just to get to work or of subjecting myself to the daily air and noise pollution of the Metro. For me the laid-back life of the province – the apparent ease of travel and the pristine atmosphere – outweighs far more the several thousand pesos difference in salary of an urban and rural job. This is my initial and heard of answer.
Naga City Public Market (source: www.naga.gov.ph)
My unheard of answer is one which might be bordering into the mean side. Most people who feign indignation at my by-passing opportunities of a Manila job are people who had never experienced life in Manila. To them, success equates living and working in the nation’s capital. They think highly of those who have been to Manila – those who’ve studied and worked there. Yet they themselves have had no experience of the hardships and turmoils behind the apparent prestige. They have no idea what it entails to work and reside in Manila. They have no idea that in order to get to work in time, one has to wake up really early in order to be travelling two hours before the supposed shift starts – and that travel involves several transfers of modes of transportation, committed in an atmosphere of exagerrated noise and stiffling smog. Exagerrated? Manila yuppies living far from their workplaces would agree with me. Why not live near the workplace, you may ask. Compare the rate of living spaces near your work location, say Makati, and a little bit farther, say UP Diliman, and you’d rather risk the commute than let all your hard earned salary go to your landlady. But then we all have our own priorities.
So in short, I do not want to face any of those circumstances when I have a much more appealing alternative here in the province. My workplace, admittedly is two towns and a city away from where I live, and sometimes I do have to ride four modes of transportation just to get there but then I am not exposed to excessive noise and stiffling smog. And thanks to our shuttle, the transportation is made so much more easier. Also travelling to work amidst a highway bordered with rice fields makes the full splendor of the star-filled skies a treat to the eyes – something I know I would never be able to witness if I live and work in Manila.
Plaza Rizal
I’ve come to realize all this things way back when I made the seemingly abrupt decision to uproot my urban life in exchange for a rural one. Today, I came across an article that also brought to mind another reason I have considered, though not so seriously, as to why I decided to spend the first years of my yuppie life in Bicol.
That article is Ms. Carmen N. Pedrosa’s Sunday column in the Philippine Star (publised May 24, 2009) entitled Bicolanos ask: What now for greater autonomy? In it she confirmed what I’ve known since high school, that my hometown belongs to the poorest regions in the country. According to the article, 5M or more than 60% of the population barely manage a sustainable lifestyle. What I learned new though was the reason why.
I thought before that Bicol was poor because most of its work force goes out of the province and work in other more prestigious regions. Of course I cannot blame them because the work opportunities then in Bicol were really scarce. Economy was at a standstill and there seems to be no improvement or growth for any of the establishments in the area. Investors also seemed hard to get by. I believe I was already in middle elementary years when Jollibee opened and it was a long time after that before McDonalds opened. I’m 22 so you do the math when those fast food chains, which are said to be the indicators of development, came to Naga.
The First McDonald's in Naga
Yet Ms. Pedrosa’s article said that Bicol is indeed rich in resources, and by that standard alone, is a wealthy province. It afterall, powers the Luzon grid with electricity from the Tiwi and Bacon-Manito geothermal plants. Lamentable though is the fact that Bicolanos are charged some of the highest rates for electricity. Apparently the geothermal plants in Bicol feeds first the other parts of Luzon before servicing its local constituents and by that time, exorbitant rates are being charged already. Apparently, the public officials (here we go again) are not doing enough for the people they have vowed to serve.
Ms. Pedrosa and company went to Bicol to talk about Charter change to the constituents of Sorsogon. They were proposing the autonomy of Bicol. Based on what I understood, Bicol, under a changed constitution, can become an autonomous region, much like ARMM and CAR. Why the need for autonomy, I do not quite understand. Foreign to me still is the idea of federalism. I do know that federalism and autonomy somehow goes hand in hand but I am still at a lost how a federal region or state would indeed function. And again, the question of why? Yet amidst all this talk about federalism and autonomy, they realized that their group had to really hear out the sentiments of the people who were experiencing the poverty first-hand. The people who have more rights to demand what is it the region needs to alleviate poverty.
And I guess amidst all the replies they heard, the most poignat one came from the lady who prepared their food for them. This lady claimed that the best thing to do in the upcoming elections would be to boycott it, since she reasoned that why would she go through all the charade of elections when nothing really happens – we just go through the motions of the elections. We just change the faces in power but nothing really changes anywhere. I guess she has a point although admittedly I must say it is a bit flawed.
Indeed it is true that with the country’s history in bad politics and political reforms, the tendency to get jaded with elections and promise of national reformation is quite rampant. I mean we cannot really blame anyone but the officials who year in year out makes us hope in their empty promises. But then we must still realize that the capacity to change this nation still lies in our hands. If we would all stop believing that the country has a potencial to rise above its current state of despair, then in the end the losers will be just ourselves and our future generation. I say “our” so we could own this coming generation since they would consist our kids and grandkids.
As pathetic as the situation must be, we must still do our best to change it, in whatever ways we can. No matter if we sometimes doubt if the little things we do indeed has any impact to our country. These little things like simply following a NO LITTERING or NO PARKING sign, or crossing the street in the designated place, or waiting for a ride in the apportioned area – seemingly insignificant laws that everyone seems to be breaking without any penalty – if we do them even when no one seems to notice or we become the odd man out, would still carry a significant impact that may be at this point in time is still far fetched from the range of our consciousness.
I remember a favorite quote that runs like this:
When I was young I wanted to change the world.
As I grew older, I realized the world was too large to change so I decided to change my country.
When I got a little bit older, I realized it was hard to change my country so I decided to change my tow
When I grew older still, I realized I cannot change my town so I decided to change my family.
When I got older still I realized that I wasn’t able to change my family.
As I lay in my deathbed, I realized, if I had changed myself first, then I might have been able to change my family, then perhaps my town, then my country and eventually the world.
Bottomline is: change starts from within. If we want something to happen in our country, if we want the trapos to change their approach to public service, wouldn’t it be worhwhile if we examine our own backyard first? If we check our selves first and ascertain for sure that we are in no way similar to this trapos – albeit in a different plane and context.
So that before we poke at the speck in someone else’s eye, we first verify that there is no speck in our eye as well.
And by the way, I just want to mention that I am really proud of all the developments of Naga as a city, and Cam. Sur as a province. In the small time frame since the first Jollibee had been erected in the city of Naga up to the present time, Naga has become a top-rate city and Camarines Sur a favorite destination for tourists and investors a like. Kudos to ALL who made this possible – from the highest official to the humbles aide!
What is public service? What does it mean to be a public servant? And what would qualify one to be in such a position?
Reading an article in today’s Sunday paper, one would think that a major qualification to be a public servant is to be rich. Or maybe to be rich is one of the benefits of being a public servant. Doesn’t that sound a bit askew to the concept of public service? Not that I am discriminating against fortune and public office. It’s just that today’s article was really an eye opener for me. I guess I’ve known that most public officials in the high throngs of bureaucracy are rich but I had no idea that they were this rich.
The article I’m referring to is Delon Porcalla’s front page entry about the number of millionaires in Congress featured in The Philippine’s Star Sunday Edition (May 24, 2009). He said that only 4 of the 238 House members are non-millionaires. Imagine! That means that some of the country’s richest citizens are in the House of Representatives. Now, I have nothing against them being rich. I know that for one to have the machineries to run in the elections, one needs the money – and a large amount at that – to do so.
Yet what I am wondering about is how some representatives get to increase their net worth by millions while they are on office. Like Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo (Pampanga), whose net worth of P96.7M in 2007 rose to P99.2M in 2008 – a staggering P2.5M increase! Another example is Rep. Diosdado “Dato” Arroyo (Cam. Sur) whose net worth of P83.7M in 2007 rose to P89M in 2008 – a more staggering increase of P5.3M! Now how could they be increasing their worth by that amount? Perhaps they have businesses and other legitimate income sources just like the richest representative, billionaire Cynthia Villar (Las Piñas) whose source of income is her real-estate lands in various locations in Parañaque and Las Piñas. But one cannot help but wonder how these officials really get all their staggering wealth.
Again I have nothing against their wealth, but I also cannot help but wonder what would happen to society, particularly their constituents if they could somehow shower their wealth to the less priviledged members of their respective districts. I do not mean for them to simply spoonfeed their money to these impoverised residents, rather I believe they can create employment oppurtunities for these people – with the aid of their “hard-earned” wealth – and improve lives other than their own.
I even wonder where they really spend such enourmous amounts of money. On luxury cars and impressive mansions, perhaps. Or maybe on grand vacations and royal treatments at various high-end establishments. In short – on an engrande or high maintenance life style. Wouldn’t we all profit more if our public servants were just like us – simple common folk who would desire for nothing more than the improvement of the common public’s life?
Wouldn’t it be a better service if our public officials can just content themselves with a simple car model, a modest house and a comfortable lifestyle while serving the general public? Again I have nothing against mansions, luxury cars and high maintenance living. Believe me, I’ve also dreamed of such luxuries in life and I’ve also longed for them. Given the chance, I would live such a life. But if I were a public official, I wouldn’t dare lead such a lifestyle while I am in public office when I can see the people I vowed to serve surviving on less than a P100 per day while my P100 is not even enough for a cup of coffee. I will not dare live such a lifestyle if I can see the kid of my constituent going to school in tattered slippers while I go to work in the latest and most expensive SUV model.
Point is: I have promised this people a better lifestyle. They look up to me to improve their conditions. Does it help them any that they can see me getting richer, enjoying a pompous lifestyle while they experience poverty day-in day-out without seemingly experiencing the economic revival that I had promised when I assumed office?
They already have the wealthy showbiz personalities of our country as their source of escape into the world of the rich and famous. Must I join the ranks of those showbiz personnas? No wonder our political scene had resembled the entertainment industry. Politicians have ceased to be public servants but had become entertainers whose grand lifestyles serve as a fantasy world of escape for impoverished citizens. But unlike the showbiz stars, these officials had candidly asked for the votes of the masses and had embarked on their gullibility to bring about their own selfish whims.
Pardon my gripe about the riches of these public servants. I myself had dreamed of serving as a public official. I knew that I would need to get rich – immensely – if I wanted to pay for the rigors of the election process and if I wanted people to really know me. But I had never dreamed of using my wealth to improve just my own way of living. I had dreamt of using my wealth to improve society by providing jobs, giving out scholarships and improving communities. I had actually considered using my own wealth to finance most public projects by donating my money to rehabilitation of barangay health centers or local community schools.
I know it is a very socialistic and utopian idea – to wish for a society wherein no one is that rich and no one is that poor. Wherein everyone would be middle class because the rich share what they have with the poor. And I know this is how communistic or socialistic governments operate. And I do not really wish for such a type of society because of all the horrors and flaws I’ve heard about it.
But wouldn’t it be grand if we would still retain our diplomacy yet also have a socialistic/communistic society in terms of resources.
I haven’t taken up any PolSci course in my entire college years and my knowledge of such political systems is very limited. And I know that I might be speaking opinions on things I do not really know about.
But the bottomline is: I wish our public servants wouldn’t gloat their riches when they are well aware that they have impoverished constituents who had voted them in office in the hope that it will be them who would experience, even just a small fraction of increase – just a few hundred pesos perhaps, in their net worth before the year is over. That is if they are not head deep in debt already.
In this era of instant messages and e-mails, one cannot bear to think how anyone could still bother sending anything via the regular postal mail or what we had come to know as snail mail. Gone were the days of sending personal letters and packages via regular mails. All we ever receive from the post office are bills and notices and the occasional personal card often catches us by surprise.
This situation however is the exact opposite of postal services in other countries which are top of the line and very reliable. Thus it is no wonder that they fully trust their postal services to deliver their letters and packages to the Philippines even if they pay only for the regular mail. After all, why would they spend more for other mail services when the cheapest mail available is already trustworthy.
Trustworthy? Maybe if they were sending mails from their countries to other countries excluding the Philippines. A friend of mine from England had to find out this truth the hard way. Fully trusting the reliability of postal services, he sent us a package via regular mail, taking pains to pay the expensive charges of shipping such a small package. He was promised that we will receive it in two weeks time. But the due date came and passed and nothing reached our doorstep – not a notice or any indication that there was a package waiting for us in our small rural postal office.
Knowing how much the package and its contents were worth, my mom would not content herself with the basic explanation that the package was lost somewhere along the way in the muddy waters of Philippine postal services. So began her personal quest to trace her package despite warnings that in the Philippine scheme of things, tracing unregistered mails and packages are futile. And it seems ours wasn’t an isolated case. Reading the online registry of the Philippine post office, we found out that a lot of people from all over the country had complaints of never receiving a package supposedly sent to them from countries like England, US and Japan. Most of these packages contained important items that are none the less valuable. Our friend in England was appalled at what he read. He had no idea Filipinos could be so corrupt as to even tamper with the mails and packages of others.
But my mom would not be dissuaded with her cause. Having made inquiries with the local town post office as well as the nearby city post office, she finally pleaded her case with the Postmaster General at the National Post Office. At this point, we were not really expecting that we would receive the package but the least we could do was to raise the awareness about this glaring Philippine problem that nobody seems to be addressing.
All hope was not lost however because in less than a month, investigations already began. And lo and behold we found out that our package actually arrived at the local post office – within two weeks time. And the problem? The local postmaster admitted she was negligent in not checking with the official forms that indeed the package arrives. So there it was the form which tracked regular mails in our country. And we were informed that such a form did not exist.
The long and short of it was that my mom did not push through with her complaint for to do so would mean the loss of jobs of the people involved. And she did not want that. We never received the package – somebody already took it but the incident served its purpose. Hopefully the postal services, in our town at least, would be a bit better than before – mails arriving on time and packages finding their way to its rightful owner.
We may not be a rich and well-developed country where people completely enjoy the benefits their taxes entails them, but what we lack in resources we must make up with integrity. We have made our mark in the world as having some of the best natural wonders and the worst cases of corruption but we can change the latter – even if just small scale. All it takes is for us to be aware of the circumstances around us and to be vigilant enough to care about them. There may be a lot of anomalies in our system but it does not mean that we can do nothing about it. After all, we are Filipinos, this is the Philippines and we have the full capacity to turn our country around – even if its just one post office at a time.
