12/14/2004

Have Filipinos Completely Lost Their Trust in Government?

I wrote this article before the Philippine Presidential election of 2004. For some reason I never published it in my blog. With the death of FPJ, it reminded me of this article. Hopefully, my message is still relevant even if the presidential election is long over.
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Have Filipinos Completely Lost Their Trust in Government?

The short answer is yes.

However, Filipinos may complain about the corrupt way government do things, but they perpetuate the same corrupt system that keeps them down.

Life in the Philippines is very harsh. It is as hopeless as hopeless can be. The pain that poor people endure is so evident by just looking at the strained expressions on people’s faces on the street. I am sure each Filipino wants change for the better.

But what can I say that would make a difference and actually improve the situation. It would be so easy to spit out motherhood statements, but I know that such statements make one feel good for a short moment then it amounts to nothing.

Change in a national scale requires a lot of effort. The key question is how can we even begin to change our nation

Teodoro Benigno said the following in a Philstar editorial on April 19, 2004:

Ergo, the presidential candidate that pours more money into the campaign than
anybody else has the decided advantage, the big edge. We are back to the
supremacy of the political machine, the brassknuckle power of money, and to hell
with political principles, honesty, integrity. The nation be
damned.

Raul Roco learned this lesson too late, believing as he did
in the innate goodness and nobility of republican democracy. He couldn’t believe
the people themselves had been wolfed into the bottomless sinkhole of
corruption.
Brother Eddie Villanueva too will eventually learn the same lessons
well, that his stirring gospel of Christian brotherhood will be knocked into a
loop by Beelzebub.

If the poor allow themselves to be manipulated, resulting in an uninformed decision during the presidential elections, then how do we expect to place leaders that will strive for the nation’s best interests?

The problem is not only confined to the poor, it is widespread in all of Philippine society. How often do we sell out ourselves in the name of expediency? Unfortunately, the answer is all too often. The problem is that we have grown too callous of injustice; not only do we just sit idly by when we see it, oftentimes we are willing participants.

Then when we see it happen in gargantuan proportions, we are outraged, conveniently forgetting that we practice the same sort of thing, albeit at a smaller scale.

I know we cannot change our surroundings overnight, so therefore we should focus in ourselves. I am a firm believer of individual initiative. Work smart, work hard and create value! Don’t expect to create wealth if you just work hard enough to keep pace with the average Filipino.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

My first impression of the American people when I first came to the great country, the United States, is this: the majority of the Americans have jobs and own their homes. They are not beholden to anyone for their daily existence, more so, for their livelihood. That is why, they make independent decisions and can select their leaders as their individual judgment dictate. In contrast, majority of the Filipinos are impoverished, unable to stand on their own, and their decisions are greatly influenced externally. Therefore, change for the better can only happen in the Philippines not through change in the individual person, but through a dedicated, patriotic leadership that the impoverished multitude will recognize and follow.

mell ditangco (this is my pseudonym) said...

I still believe Filipinos should be more independent in their thoughts. Although a strong leader with integrity is indeed needed in our land. In fact my other articles speak of a need for a strong leader.

LEi said...

the question is who among them is that patriot leader? its seems like all of them work for their own advantage. pare-pareho sila. kanya kanyang interes ang pinapangalagaan.

mell ditangco (this is my pseudonym) said...

Indeed, trusting anybody in today's political circles is tough. Bayani Fernando was aspiring to be a VP candidate early on, but GMA did not bless his candidacy. I hope Bayani Fernando becomes President in 2010.