Sunday, January 28, 2007

Shame on the Philippine media

The Philippine media are proving themselves to be just as incompetent as the politicians that rule the country. With the upcoming legislative election, they are pandering to the politicians. They are not making inquiries and certainly not writing about the lack of platform from the political parties. They write and report about the politicians switching parties and the new alliances. These are irrelevant issues. In fact, they do not have anything to do with the serious issues affecting the country. They will not improve the Philippines.

Even worse, up to now they are still covering Imelda Marcos and Erap Estrada. They are the Philippines’ public enemy #1 and #2. Imelda Marcos is a pathological liar, delusional, and a convicted criminal for crimes against the Philippines. Erap Estrada is an imbecile, guilty of impersonating a third-rate actor, and just like Imelda Marcos, a convicted criminal for crimes against the country. They should have been executed or the very least locked up forever in prison along time ago. But for some reason that is truly unique in the Philippine culture, they managed to make a mockery of the judicial system setting them free and allowing them to live in comfort. Where is the justice! Up to now, they still have a voice, and the media is giving them that opportunity. Shame on you! Mahiya naman kayo. Talaga bang wala na kayong mga isip at hanggang ngayon ay binibigyan pa ninyo ng halaga ang mga kriminal ng bansa. You have the power and the opportunity to make a difference for the Philippines. Please take that responsibility and use your power not just to change but truly improve the country. It is your choice. You can make a big difference for the country or you can continue to be used by the politicians for their personal gain. It is up to you to hold the politicians accountable and be the voice for the people. The power is in your hands. How will you use that power?

To all college students in the Philippines, what does the future hold for you upon graduating?

You are in your 3rd or 4th year college. Graduation is within your reach. You can see it. You can smell it. You can taste it. You can even imagine the graduation celebration already. You and twenty of your closest friends or even your whole batch will be at you favorite hangout, your favorite restaurant, drinking, eating, and singing the night away. You will laugh and cry as you reminisce about all the hardships you endured - the all-night sessions of studying for exams, the get-togethers to work on challenging projects, and of course all the drama of puppy love and college romance, the countless break-ups and make-ups. But that’s all behind you now. You made it. You’ve arrived, right? You’ll be joining the ranks of the young professionals, working hard during the day and partying just as hard at night. And as you establish your career, you’ll buy your dream car, the latest cell phone, and every other material thing to satisfy your needs. You’ll get your single or maybe even double unit condo in some newly built high-rise in Quezon City. In the morning, you will wake up with the sun rising over Manila Bay. And at night as you hangout in your terrace, you’ll make a wish at the shooting stars falling across the horizon. You’ll be served from head to toe. Your katulong will have everything done for you. What a beautiful life, right? Yes. But first, let’s go back to your graduation party. As the last balloon falls to the ground, as the last karaoke song softens to its last refrain, and as your mind clears from the effects of San Miguel and tequila, your future comes into view. Bright? No, not quite. In fact, it’s a little dark. You took off the cool sunglasses you’re wearing. Maybe it was the shade. No, it’s still dark and even blurry. You rubbed your eyes just to make sure. Nothing happened. It still looks the same. Getting frustrated, you took a deep breath to sigh. Right then and there, as the diesel-emission-polluted-air fills every alveolar sac in your lungs, the reality hits you. You realized that you’re in the Philippines. Finding a job, let alone getting a good one, will be extremely difficult. With the exception of the privileged few - usually family members of the wealthy clans and/or related and/or well-connected to high-ranking government officials - for many, there is no real future upon graduating from the university. The job market is extremely slim. Most positions requiring a degree have been filled already. And for those that were able to start early, they understand the importance and value of securing a decent job. The opportunity is precious therefore many are employed for the long-run. With the anemic economy, no new jobs are created leaving very little to zero opportunities for those wanting to join the work force. If there are vacant spots available, the odds are too high with so many job-seekers. And because it’s the Philippines, there are social hurdles to overcome for an average person. The policy of who-you-know is in full effect. This is the stark reality that lies ahead for the recent graduates.

For an average person, the thought of having a bright future after getting an education is not a reality in the Philippines. It is not even a possibility. It is only a dream. A dream that can only be achieved if he or she escapes this country of corruption ruled by the most incompetent and self-serving group of people. The hundreds of rapidly expanding enclaves of dengue and malaria-infested and garbage and human excrement-littered slums scattered throughout the country is a sheer reminder of the failures of its previous and present president as the nation continues its gradual, steady decline. For most people, even if educated and skilled, if unable to earn an income due to lack of job opportunities, these slums are eventually their destination. Knowing what life has in store for them in the Philippines already, many Filipinos have made and still continuing the exodus to other countries just to find work. They are driven by the hopes and dreams of improving their life and of their loved ones. And many did find success, providing a much better life for their family. Over the years, the number of Filipinos scattered all over the world has grown to a few millions. Many will come back to the Philippines especially the contract workers in the Middle East. But the majority, those that had immigrated to Australia, Canada, and the United States, has no desire of returning. They can’t be blamed for such choosing. Given the choice of better or worse, naturally anyone will choose the better one. This is a clear conviction of the Philippine government’s continuing failures.
Where is the shame of the government of the Philippines?

Incidentally there is an irony to all these, from having no opportunities to leaving the country and finding success somewhere else. The Filipinos that have found success in other countries are now the ones sustaining the life of the Philippines and its government, the very same country and system that failed them. Annually, tens of billions (in US dollars) worth of remittance are sent the Philippines by Filipinos working and living abroad. It would seem that the Philippines would be highly developed and industrialized when a significant amount of externally-generated revenue is being pumped annually into its economy. This is hardly the case. Instead, the country has remained stagnant with its Third World conditions. The remittance that eventually ends up in the treasury as taxes and fees (and there are many fees collected from Overseas Filipino Workers, OFWs!) is now the main source of booty for the politicians. The Trapos (traditional politicians or soiled cleaning rags), the old-breed of corrupt government officials that Marcos established, are masters of blatantly stealing the country’s money or subtly using it for their own personal benefit. The Trapos have now shared this same practice of quickly acquiring and amassing wealth to the Politistas (actors/singers, artistas-turned politicians, a disturbing trend that was started by Erap Estrada as he emulated Ronald Reagan, a US president who had an early career as an actor and sports broadcaster), the new breed of corrupt government officials but just equally incompetent. The Filipinos abroad that are sending remittance are now perpetuating the appalling conditions in the Philippines. The country is dismal as ever.
Where is the shame of the government of the Philippines?

The legislative election in the Philippines will be held in a few months. This should be a good sign for the Philippines because there is a potential for change in leaderships. But the most troubling aspect of the upcoming election is that the politicians, both incumbents and new candidates, are not offering plans or initiatives to the current problems of the country. They are all making a lot of noise by grandstanding and switching parties and alliances. It’s all about their personal gain, their political career, their chance of getting elected. Nothing is being offered for the betterment of the country. The political parties (and there are many!) have no platform or even some sort of initiative to offer. This shows that none of them has any kind of plan for the country. They all want to be leaders but they do not have a direction to lead or take the country. An equally troubling part to the lack of platform from the political parties is the lack of inquiry from the people or even from the media and the different organizations that supposedly championing changes. Nobody is asking the most basic questions. “What will you do for the country?” “What are your plans to improve the dismal conditions?” “How will you accomplish those plans?” Maybe the people of the Philippines do not know how to ask those questions. Maybe it is too much to ask for the masses, ang masa. But instead of holding all the people responsible to ask those questions, one group will be held responsible for asking one basic question. So let’s go back to your graduation or even the year before.

Yes, that’s right. The group I am talking about is all the college students. You all know what’s in store for you after you graduate. I am holding all of you responsible to ask every candidate in the upcoming election the most basic question that relates and directly affects you. “Honorable (fill-in the candidate), you are aware of the very high unemployment rate in our country due mainly to lack of job opportunities - we have more graduates than jobs available, what are your plans to create new jobs here in the Philippines so we can be employed here and not go to other countries to be slaves there?” This is a very simple question that requires an answer. And their answer should be the basis for them getting elected. Hold them accountable to address the issue. Hold them accountable to the solutions that they propose to address the issue. Hold them accountable to take the necessary actions to solve the problem. Hold them accountable for your future. It is your responsibility to hold them accountable. Otherwise, nothing will change.

Issues such as lack of job opportunities should be what the college students should protest. You need to hold the person or group of persons including the president of the country responsible. You are all very intelligent and should not fall for empty promises or temporary solutions. Make the leaders commit to plans to improve the country. Force them to take actions. Continue protesting them. Continue to pressure them. No more ningas kugon. Your future, your survival and the country’s, is at stake. If they don’t deliver, then remove them from his or her office and warn the replacement that you will do the same thing if he or she proves to be incompetent and ineffective as well. Draw the line in the sand now and make a stand, or else all of you and the country will continue to suffer. It is up to you, not the corrupt politicians, to determine your future. It is your choice.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Another Reason Why The Philippines Is Not Progressing

Alan Peter Cayetano, a representative from Taguig-Pateros alleged Jose Miguel Arroyo, the husband of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of improper conduct by having a bank account and investments in another country hence the House panel hearing.

This shows that Filipino politicians are just a bunch of idiot monkeys. I apologized for insulting the monkeys.

The hearing is one big charade, an absolute nonsense and a waste of the taxpayers’ money. Just like any other investigation in the Philippines, it will not amount to anything.

First, the accusation is down right slanderous especially when there is no evidence. Arroyo should have filed a countersuit for slander in a civil court, and not at the taxpayers’ expense.

Second, the members of the House Committee on Ethics are stupid for giving the accusation merit and holding a hearing when there is no proof.

Arroyo is also stupid by giving the accusation merit by replying. If Arroyo did obtain a large amount of money by questionable means and was able to transfer it to another country, then the people responsible for safeguarding the country from such crime especially at the highest level failed. It is too late at this point already.

The current hearing will not result in anything. And additional long-drawn out hearings that will soon follow will not result in anything too. They would just waste the country’s money. If there is one thing that Filipino government officials can do well is to always come to an inconclusive conclusion.

Filipino government officials as always are hard at work for their personal gain. Instead of formulating initiatives and passing laws to improve the country, the law-makers are accusing each other and arguing about the money that might have possibly been stolen from the country’s treasury. The country's treasury should have been inaccessible and untouchable in the first place. It seems like that no one can prevent a plunder but they are more willing to accuse and argue with each other once the plunder has occured. The money is unrecoverable once it is taken out of the country and deposited in a personal account. This is a clear example of both government corruption and absolute incompentency of government officials working hand-in-hand. It's a lose-lose situation for the country and its people. It's no wonder why the country does not improve.

Winners: Arroyo – personal gain, fat pocket; Cayetano – political points, extended political career; Germany – using Philippines money for investments, earning interest; House Committee on Ethics – political grandstanding.

Losers: The Philippines, the Filipino people.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Protest, protest, and more protest

As a young developing nation, the Philippines has been struggling since becoming independent well over half a century ago. Its early beginnings and the next two decades that followed certainly contributed to the current dismal condition that the country is in today. Prior to its independence, the Philippines, a nation of islands and a commonwealth of the United States at the time, was a paradise in the making. With the guidance of the US, the Philippines was going to be a model for a democratic state with a very strong free-market economy sustained by its own abundant natural resources. But the onset of World War II quickly turned the developing paradise into a living hell, sites of fiery and bloody battles resulting in thousands of deaths of innocent lives as cities, towns, and villages were razed. Its independence halted and was put on hold infinitely as the Japanese occupied the country during the war. The country was completely devastated by the time it was liberated from Japan. The rebuilding years that soon followed coupled with being on the unfavorable side of a treaty it signed with the United States proved to be trying years as well. But those struggles that the country experienced would not compare to what it would endure under the Marcos regime in the years to come. As a fledgling nation, the tyrannical Marcos prevented the Philippines from ever spreading its wings as he quashed the young republic. With his equally greedy and ambitious wife at his side, they systematically raped and plundered the country for over two decades. The country and its people suffered greatly. But even after Marcos was overthrown, the damage he had done had longstanding effects. His legacy of establishing the most corrupt government in modern times entrenched a corrupt system in their society, in their culture, cementing the fate of the Philippines as a Third World country. It has not changed nor recovered since. From being toasted as the Pearl of the Orient as a commonwealth of the United States, the Philippines has been reduced to its current state as the Doormat of China and Japan. Today while it’s neighboring countries are enjoying rapid progress and economic growth, the Philippines is being left behind, continuing its slow decline and establishing itself as the Kangkongan of Asia. The future of the Philippines is bleak. In the last three decades, there had been countless demonstrations, protests, including a handful of coup d’etats. The people of the Philippines are very much aware of their problems. They are discontent of the wide spread corruption, injustice, social ills, and poverty plaguing their country. They want solutions, changes. With their awareness, as a nation they should have been able to make some improvements. But they don’t. All their previous attempts to reform themselves, their country, including several so-called revolutions, did not amount to anything. Presidents have been removed and replaced but conditions have remained the same, deplorable as ever. But year after year, the cycle of attempting to make changes continues. Nothing learned, nothing gained, and nothing changed.

If the people of the Philippines are aware of all the problems and have made attempts to change with protests and even ‘revolutions’, why have the conditions remained the same?
To casual observers, the demonstrations - or the revolutions - might look very impressive. But looking impressive is the extent of the protests in the Philippines regardless of whom or what they are directed to. They are either fleeting, essentially ineffective, or staged, lacking substance. Most protests are genuine but never sustained to come to fruition, eventually fading. There is this particular habit, a kind of attitude, unique to the people of the Philippines that they themselves refer to as ningas kugon, a burst of passion that fades immediately. (Kugon is cogon grass. When ignited, it bursts into flame quickly but burns out just as fast.) There is always that initial zest, that high level of enthusiasm to fight for a cause but it loses steam as soon as it gets underway. This has been their practice when it comes to their internal struggles. A few protests did result in some sort of revolution where a sitting president which included Marcos was removed and replaced. But the change in leadership did not bring about the anticipated revolutionary change. No change at all. The people failed to sustain the movement for reform. As a result, the conditions remain unchanged.

The staged protests might look just as impressive but they are just as ineffective. They are just a political ploy. Mga palabas lang! This particular display is never more real when protesting against the United States. Just a few weeks ago, this particular Filipino practice of staging phony demonstrations was displayed to the world when Daniel Smith, a US Marine lance corporal, was transferred to the US Embassy. Smith was recently sentenced to 40 years to be served in a Philippine prison after being found guilty of raping a Filipino woman. He appealed the sentence. And as he waits for the decision, he was transferred to the custody of the Americans in the US Embassy. The Filipinos then reacted and showed their apparent disgust over what seems to be a perversion of justice and a blatant and utter disrespect of the US over the sovereignty of the Philippines. Hundreds of outraged Filipinos protested in and around the US Embassy. They united. They stood up for themselves, for the sovereignty of the Philippines. They had neatly made placards bearing colorful anti-US military slogans. Some even went to all the troubles of painting US flags and caricature images of Bush and Arroyo on posters; they burned them. Point made? With the media attention and world-wide exposure it received, the US should have been feeling the pressure. Not quite. The US knowing this particular Filipino practice simply ignored it until it went away. It did.

Who participates in the demonstrations, staged or not?
There are some genuine protesters believing and fighting for a cause, in this case, against the US and its intrusive military. But the majority of the protesters are hired and paid or even coerced. Most of them are unemployed (and there are many!) and even indigents rounded up from the many slums in Manila. They are desperate; they will do anything for money. So getting offered a couple of hundred of pesos (if they are lucky) for a few hours work of protesting appears very attractive to them. They easily go along. They end up getting bussed in. Mga hakot. Bussing in paid people to an event is an all-too-common practice in the Philippines not just for demonstrations but also for elections, especially. Many are also college students that would appear to be active in civil affairs, young political activists. They are not. Many, if not most, are just cutting classes. Instead of going to school and attending classes, without a purpose or a sense of direction they participate in the demonstration. They yell a few derogatory and anti-US chants, burn a couple of US flags and effigies, and then they go home. At the end, the demonstration did not do anything for Philippines. Nothing learned, nothing gained, and certainly nothing changed. So much for having a cause to believe in and worth fighting for, let alone standing up for the sovereignty of the Philippines.

Who is organizing and initiating the protests?
There are a few groups that truly dislike the US and harbor anti-US sentiments. But most of the time, the demonstrations against the US are organized by the opposition to the current Filipino administration, currently President Arroyo and her loyalists. The protests by the Opposition are not an expression of anti-US sentiments, but rather a political ploy to undermine the current Filipino administration. Historically, dating back from the commonwealth time and especially after the Philippines became independent, past (with the exception of Estrada, he was never acknowledged by the US for obvious reasons) and the present Filipino presidents have always reached across the Pacific Ocean and aligned themselves with the US rather than with it’s neighboring Asian countries. There has always been that special relationship – strained at times - between the two countries and has been fading in recent years since the closing of the US bases. But regardless of the extent of the relationship or whether or not the US treaded on the autonomy of the Philippines, throughout the history the Opposition has always used this to discredit the current administration. It is an obvious and often-used political tactic of the Opposition. The Opposition has always managed to inject anything involving the US into their political arena like the ongoing rape case against a US Marine. Once the Opposition has politicized a US related incident, baseless or not, they will then accuse the current administration as a tuta, a lapdog - a puppet of the United States, following orders and giving in to all the demands. And in the other half of the accusation, the US has always been vilified and portrayed as the imperialistic, constantly meddling, puppet-master of the Philippines. This cycle of accusations continues. The Opposition of the Arroyo administration will most likely come into power next. The once-Opposition will align itself with the US. And they will now be accused by the new Opposition as the new puppet of the US. As result, the two opposing groups, political parties, just discredited each by using the US for their political gain. At the end, the change in leadership did not do anything for the Philippines. The country remains stagnant with its squalid conditions. Nothing learned, nothing gained, and certainly nothing changed.

Daniel Smith was brought back to the Philippines to stand trial for the rape of a Filipino woman. He stood trial. He was convicted. He was sentenced. But he is now back in the custody of the United States. It will not be surprising if he wins his appeal and his conviction overturned. Within days everything will go back to the way they were as if Daniel Smith never set foot in the Philippines. And just like before, everything that is in need of change will not change. Everything remains the same. The Philippines is still viewed as a corrupt country with corrupt institutions. So even before the Philippines can influence, let alone exert pressure on other nations, they must learn to exert pressure on themselves, their government to reform a corrupt society. Simply displaying to the world that they are capable of protesting or going through its motions does not prove that they can make changes, reforms. They must prove to themselves the integrity of their institutions. Smith’s transfer of custody to the US does not undermine the credibility of the Philippines because the Philippines has not been credible since Marcos’ dictatorship. As a commonwealth, the US gave the Philippines the most precious gift a government can give to another. The US exported to the Philippines its own democratic institution, a time-proven, effective system that protects its people from the powers of the government and its elected leaders. And in no time, the Philippines showed its ingratitude to the US by slowing transforming the system. The Philippines proved that it lacked the capacity to appreciate the workings of such civil institution as its early elected leaders utterly dishonored its processes. Then Marcos’ rise to power and his declaration of marshal law completed the transformation. Under Marcos, the Philippines remained a republic with a face of a democratic government, but his totalitarian rule which led to the abysmal condition of the country proved the opposite. The world witnessed the Philippines mongrelized a hand delivered democratic institution system and bastardized its processes. Today, the democratic institution of the Philippines is in the name and its bureaucracy only, not its function. Incidentally, the current government officials are trying to change its form of government to counter the corruption and to safeguard for potential abuses of power. If they succeed, the Philippines will prove that it can desecrate not one but two or maybe even several forms of government. It appears that the government officials have not learned anything from the way they corrupted and have continued to corrupt its current form of government. A particular form of government does not corrupt itself, its people do. As long as the people have no respect for the institution and do not abide by the law of the land that protects it, the integrity of the system will be compromised rendering it ineffective, essentially useless. At the expense of the country, personal relationships at all level of the society driven by personal gains rule the Philippines. Its constitution is a meaningless piece of legal document that does not apply to the privileged elite and the elected few. And the country is merely a chessboard where they play their personal and/or political battles.

In light of Daniel Smith’s crime against a Filipino woman, it would appear that the big fight is against the United States. But the fight, the struggle, has never been against the US. Even before the Philippines became a republic, the bigger fight, the real battle, has always been amongst and within them. That battle has not been fought with a clear victor emerging as the united people of the Philippines, Filipinos. The people of the Philippines were never united even now. They have always identified themselves proudly as citizens of the region of their ancestral origin first rather than as Filipinos. Incidentally, this affiliation with their ancestral origin not only prevents them from becoming whole as the people of the Philippines, but it also sacrifices the leadership of the country. Loyalty is given to their fellow citizen of the same ancestral origin that might not necessarily be the best and most qualified person to lead the nation. In that same token, the allegiance is to a region of the country, never to the Philippines, the republic. There is no vision, no dream for the country of the Philippines. Changes do not occur not just because of social and economic divisions but also prevented by the people’s provincial bias and myopic vision. Not until the state of the Philippines becomes paramount and not the individual citizens, the country as a whole especially the majority of its people will continue to suffer. As of now, nothing learned, nothing gained, and certainly nothing changed. The demonstrations - maybe more ‘revolutions’ - with the hopes of bringing about change continue.