My mind wanders aimlessly especially on those moments when I’m about to fall asleep. Ideas seem to appear out of nowhere when the tug-of-war battle between wakefulness and sleep begins. One time, I rehashed the news I’ve seen on TV as well as the articles I’ve read online.
Wide awake at 1am with no internet to aid in making myself sleepy, I have mentally composed a status on what I’ve seen in the news nowadays. Upon realizing that it would make too long of a status given that I have a lot of opinions when it comes to these topics, I quickly made an outline on my phone’s notepad. Then the sudden eureka moment — this can be a good article material for my blog! Apart from keeping this space light and unbiased, I can’t help but share some of my deep convictions about things that matter.
Have you seen the news lately? What can you say amidst all the issues we’re facing? I’ve rounded up my top reasons on why I have lost my faith in the Philippine government. It is so random though I do not know how to begin but here’s what I think:
I firmly believe that we do not need another long list of laws except for the ones that would serve us well in the current setting. We can barely implement the existing ones. However, we can agree to disagree here. Everything is entirely subjective with regards to what I write in this post.
Reason #1 IT’S ALL ABOUT REPUTATION – If there’s one thing this administration truly cares about then it is how they are being perceived. The blame games are a common happening. There’s no sense of urgency during disaster as well. Remember Yolanda? It required national help but all they did was blame the LGU saying they were unprepared. Honestly, who can prepare for the biggest storm ever recorded? What’s worse? I doubt those millions worth of donations were noted in writing by the DSWD.
With worldwide media coverage, the epalitikos (Ehem… Roxas!) took it as a chance to gain pogi points FFS! The ending? He made a fool of himself! As expected, the president acted as if everything is handled well when in reality, it is not. He even had the guts to refuse help from foreign countries.
I never heard the current administration owning up on undesirable mishaps. When all else fails, blame the past admins dating all the way back to the Marcos regime. Former President Gloria is his favorite target too pulling out all strings to make her detention a bit more uncomfortable. If you follow social accounts like Showbiz Government and Get Real Philippines then you probably know that most of the projects PNoy is taking credit for during his early years were PGMA’s and not his. Smooth move!
Read about his shameless act here: 7.1% growth is not due to Aquinomics, it’s a continuation of GMA’s use of Keynesian Economics
How to measure one’s reputation? Ratings! Ratings! Ratings! Who cares if most of the Filipinos are unemployed, the good news (and the only thing that matters) is that the president’s approval ratings are up. Ha! Who are we kidding here?
Next, let’s talk about PRIDE which the present administration seems to have bottomless supply of. Our government can’t even say sorry to countries who are involved to the unfortunate incidents that happened here. Remember the Quirino grandstand hostage crisis? Did we apologize to HK? What about those Taiwanese fishermen who got killed by a Philippine coast guard? Did we extend our efforts to assure Taiwan that we are doing everything we can on the said investigation? No. The president simply sent someone else to do that for him which of course resulted in an unfavorable outcome. “Acting like a spoiled brat” is the only scene I can compare his actions to when I try to search for analogies.
Reason #2 CHURCH – I can’t stress just how annoying church involvement can be! Whether it is about a controversial bill being filed, senate hearings, political issues, or newly approved laws, you can be sure that the CBCP, cardinals, and archbishops have their own say about that. Whatever their purpose, how about they back off a little bit and let the government do what it’s supposed to? After all, these are tax-exempted fellas!
REASON #3 MEDIA MANIPULATION – The Yellow Media is growing! The news seems cherry-picked and fake now. Hello? Asking media people to feature or write more good news? That sounds off! Let them do their respective jobs and as for the executive branch, putting plans into actions might help.
At times I think PNoy is only putting effort in something when it is almost due to deliver SONA. A case of beating up the deadline albeit submitting a report haphazardly done. Try watching nightly news on TV and compare it with unbiased online sites. I bet you’ll notice the significant difference. Broadcast media, being one that is widely available and patronized by the masses, can easily become a tool for manipulating people. Swaying one’s opinion is possible especially when it comes to high-profile cases and televised hearings. Trial by publicity, as what they say. What I hate about it is that the jurors are all the more have questionable reputations.
REASON #4 CORRUPTION – Speaking of senate jurors, are the ones presiding the case all clean with their PDAF allocation? One can only wonder. What about the fishy DAP fund given to them after a Corona impeachment case’s guilty verdict?
The Philippines collects trillions worth of tax each year. With that, millions are allocated for the majority and minority lawmakers’ special projects. These so-called projects are called Priority Development Assistance Fund or PDAF. What are their special projects? Most of these were untraceable, non-existent (ghost projects) or overpriced. They channel it on industries like the following:
Farming - The favorite PDAF victim but want to know who the real victims are? Our poor farmers who didn’t even know such special projects existed! Had these loan programs implemented properly, these people could have sufficient capital to finance their livelihood. There will be access to fertilizers too, not the scam brouhaha. The craziest among all these fakeries would have to be… Cong. Binay’s 16-million Bulate Project!
When I first heard it on the news I was like, “Dafuq is this shit?”. How can one justify spending millions on a (lame) vermiculture project?
On a serious note when I took BSN course in college, community immersions allowed me to witness what condition these farmers are in. For us who are there for a short period of time, we welcomed the change of scenery and rural living. For the residents, life is primitive in a way. You get to see their bahay kubo on stilts and that serves as their sleeping, dining, and living area. They don’t have much, some don’t even own the land they farm, and they have existing loans to sustain their farming expenses. Imagine a Php 5000 profit – that’s what they gain in one planting season, a farmer shared.
Health – As a student nurse during my college years, part of the curriculum is the clinical duty exposure to public hospitals. When one sees the premises, it can be difficult to comprehend that these institutions actually have a budget allocated for them. Employees and medical staff have to make-do with whatever is available and that includes turning empty IV bottles into a DIY urinal or graduated containers. You can’t help but feel sorry – for the staff unable to deliver quality care, for the hospital for not having the best facilities, and most of all to the patients who deserve more than what they’re getting. The medicines, rooms, and even the gauze should be free. Unfortunately, they are not.
Education – Education is every Filipino’s right. It is free. Therefore, illiteracy is not an option. Not every president valued education like former Pres. Marcos did. Nobody can top the number of schools and universities he built during his regime. I know he ruled for decades but still. I don’t think the leaders who came after him can top the number of schools, hospitals, arts center, and infrastructure he built even if you add it all up.
The lack of education plays a role in our current situation. People who live in far-flung areas are being hauled by trucks to Comelec every election time. Their votes add up numbers to candidates who paid for it. Are the votes of value? Did these people really thought about whose names are they going to write on the ballot? I’m not judging here. I find it as a loophole for cheating your way up to the coveted seat. Personally, I think education or being literate to say the least should be a prerequisite to the right of suffrage. It should be a prerequisite in any government position too. It is unfair how you have to be civil service eligible to work in a public office but high-ranking politicians who barely made it to college are part of legislative body. Unfair, huh? Think about it!
Privatization or Public-Private Partnership Program (Philippines) or PPP– You can see the infographic showing the current administration having the most projects. I honestly don’t know what I think about this program and how it can benefit us. For me, it just looks like another corporate investment on what could have been a solely government-owned one. With all the privatization going on, I think the government only loses its grip in terms of control. Now corporate conglomerates can increase their price all they want and there is little the government can do.
Read this Huffington Post article: The Privatization Dilemma.
Electricity, water, gas, fare, and other day-to-day expenses seem to be on incremental price hike. An average Filipino is being gangraped by tax, overpriced commodities, and bills! There’s no middle class anymore. Poor gets poorer, rich gets richer. I find it very appalling that the administration could care less about public welfare. It is somewhat oligarch-centered and the “Kayo ang boss ko!” line isn’t really meant for the mass.
Corruption is not exclusive to millions of funds untraceable. It exists even with the basic unit, barangay. A barangay captain’s salary isn’t worth that much but many are eyeing this position. A friend of mine who works in a barangay office coincidentally became a silent witness to the shady businesses involved there. I’ve learned that you can get thousands worth of kickback in one voucher alone. Cap got an instant 10k for overpriced medicines!
See? These kinds of people exist because we let them. We voted. We got bribed. I’m no exception and I’m guilty of it. I got Php 700 richer after the election days but I still voted those who I believe in. Now, the ones in the position are just getting back what they’ve lost (or invested) and then some.
REASON #5 USING MEDICAL JARGON – When push comes to shove, lo and behold ailments are suddenly coming out of nowhere. Headaches become migraines. Exhaustion or tiredness becomes nervous breakdown or other stress-related health condition. You see, even in the use of terms defines where you belong in the social strata. First things first, accused personalities seek refuge to wheelchairs and private hospitals!
It is hard to deny that there will be special treatments. These people who are shameless enough to request house/hospital arrest are in no position to complain about their detention cells having pesky rodents and such. You weren’t given a vacation leave mister so don’t treat your cells like some high-class villa! Guess what, real prisons don’t have the amenities like you have so live with it. I even saw a meme comparing their detention cells to those of overpriced Yolanda bunkhouses and the so-called jail wins by a mile. Tsk!
Politicians throwing shit at each other. Bending laws or persuasion through ‘suhol’ make me cringe. Anomalies, intrigues, and controversies everywhere. Bottomline, GREED SUPERCEDES PATRIOTISM. All this fake Pinoy pride and do-gooder facade needs to go down the drain. Like the name of my fave website, get real Philippines!
We Filipinos need to wake up and realize the government is fucking us up bigtime! Rally after rally, impeachment after impeachment, if the newly elected one is the same as the old then we’ll get nowhere. Things could only get worse overtime unless we wise up and clear government seats of the old trapo, dynasties, and those who are famous for just “name recall.” Quit patronizing cheap advertisements and false reassurances during campaign. Scrutinize their credentials, principles, and achievements first before anything else. Wise up!
There you go, I’ve said my piece albeit being a long one. Hope you learned something out of this article!
Stay wicked!
