IS THERE STILL HOPE FOR PHILIPPINES?

Unabated crimes, Sky-rocketing prices of basic commodities, continuous erosion of Filipino’s moral fiber, unemployment rate getting out of control, institutionalized corruptions from high places down to the smallest level of the government, insurgency problems due to unresolved cultural and political differences. Given all these circumstances, is there still hope for our country?

We never learned from our past mistakes
Street protests seem like the only solution to every crisis where opportunist politicians armed with their vested interest ride in the frenzy of mass demonstration which is becoming now the favorite past time of our hopeless kababayan other than chismis. I’m not belittling the intention of our principled street leaders but I feel sorry for them seeing them rubbing elbows with some trapos who were once the subjects and causes of the past people power uprising. “Filipinos have a short span of memory,” as my co-expatriate claims. He further added, “While I admire the Filipinos willingness to fight every inch to achieve freedom, I am dismay for Filipinos short span of memory. You never learned from your past mistakes.”

Who is the mostly affected sector of the society?
With these chaotic situations happening here and there and almost every part of the country is in the state of catastrophe caused by endless political bickering and economic vaudeville. Who is the mostly affected sector of the society? Is it the poorest of the poor? or maybe the upper class or is it the middle class sector of the society?

The marginalized sector of our society (composed of about 70% to 80% of the entire populace who scramble for the remaining 20% or maybe less of our country’s resources) doesn’t care much whether our country’s economists reported a significant increase in our GDP’s nor the increasing power of Philippine peso will have a significant impact to them. How can you answer the question like, “can we eat that GDP?” “Can this continuous appreciation of Philippine peso guarantee us three square meals a day? For them, they couldn’t care more other than their short-term but logical belief that “whoever can feed us is our master”. A formula well known by these opportunist politicians.

The rich and the elite who composed the 8% to10% of the upper class citizenry (who by the way controlled 80% of Philippines’ resources by way of Pareto Principle) has nothing to worry about simply because while they amass their wealth thru their bastion of business empire scattered all over the Philippine archipelago, they may probably channeled these wealth out of the country to whatever means possible despite the current imposition of the AMLL (Anti Money Laundering Law). Unbelievable? Oh boy, there are so many ways to skin the cat as the Chinese saying goes. Do they pay proper taxes? Ask the Marines.

The middle class is the only sector of the society that breaths life to our ailing economy. This silent majority continues to provide the life-saving support that keeps our economy afloat. OFW’s steady flux of remittance with a growth rate of 12% per annum (Source: BSP) buoyed up the country’s dollar reserve. The middle wage earners known as the salary man with their meager income still manage to pay the withholding tax due them every payday aside from the countless tax measures of our country like the EVAT, Road Users Tax and even the proposed tax on SMS. All of these taxes are forcefully being fed to this gutted sector of the society. Other tax reform measures are still on the drawing board that will surely cripple the middle class are being penned by these “brilliant economist” of the government to increase the government’s fiscal year budget decoyed as PORK BARREL. “Hey brilliant economist, I have a piece of advice to you, why not intensify current tax collection system rather that pushing for new tax measures, you MORON.”

The Effect
No wander why many middle class Filipinos is in the brink of surrender and gutted express the so desire to leave the country in exodus leaving behind the lower class or the marginalized sector of the citizenry. The marginalized class given a choice or rather the opportunity can create a band wagon of mass exodus rolling out of the country saying Adios La Isla Pilipinas. This possibility if not abated will demographically increase in numbers hypothetically dwarfing the mass exodus of the people of Israel led by Moses when they exiled from Egypt. What about the upper class? Well, consider the domino effect of this mass exodus; they will flee the country as well ahead of anybody.

The Root Cause
(Taken from the Arab News Article of Manuel L. Quezon III)
Filipinos tend to compare our political development with that of the Americans. In turn, Americans have always been in denial over their influence in shaping of Philippines’ political metamorphosis. Filipinos have been in denial over how Philippine democracy not only differs from the kind of practiced in the US, but also, whatever similarities existed relied on a linguistic legacy of democracy that has been systematically dismantled in the Philippine education system. The result is that the middle class, the bulwark of American style democracy, has essentially fled to the United States, gutting the liberal democratic chances of the Philippines.

I say gutted, because on the other hand, Filipinos continue to obsess over the American democratic experience, while ignoring the lessons in democracy they could learn from our more immediate neighboring countries or better yet, form our own political history. We keep on saying that we love democracy but much more of a “guided” democracy, where leaders may be periodically elected but then generally rule undisturbed by public opinion; or better yet, where elections can be discarded and technocrats are given free reign to decide what’s best for the nation.

Is there still hope for Philippines?
My answer is a resounding YES. It may be gargantuan task but it is doable.
YES the Filipino CAN and YES, there is still HOPE for the Philippines.
How are we going to do it?
How about by starting to think POSITIVELY.

Instead of criticizing leaders of the government that we elected (Yah, right, lets not argue anymore whether GMA cheated or not during the last presidential election, the fact that she anyways is now our cheating or I mean the sitting president, let’s all move on) and urging her to go down, (By the way, does the opposition has a better alternative if in case GMA stepped down? How about Rez Cortes for President?), why not sit together and work for the common good of our country. Impossible? Difficult? Indifference in Political agenda?
Well, did I say think POSITIVE?

To our incumbent leaders, well, how much is enough? Have the conscience and virtue of morality. Think more of how can you compensate the very same people who believed and voted for you. Accumulating this wealth and worrying how you are going to keep it resembles the rich fool as told by Jesus Christ in the Bible. C’mon man, you can never take it with you at the time of your demise.

Think Positive-Speak Positive
We Filipinos should not worry about whether our country is in bad situation or how other countries look down on us. Worrying will not create any solutions nor finger pointing and the non stop blaming game. Let us not procrastinate of the past but work together and focus on how to reverse this image. Speak nothing but positive (bad situation is already given in the mathematical equation).

Simple Solution
Let’s try to simplify the algebraic equation and solve the missing unknown one after another. What could be the missing variable can be filled up by all of us Filipinos from all walks of life. Rich and poor alike, whatever varying political colors you may be. Let’s all be a self-appointed ambassadors of the Philippines. Speak and feel good about our country. It is not what goes inside our mouth that makes our body dirty but it is what comes out of it. For whatever comes out our mouth comes form our heart. When someone utters evil deeds defines the sorry state of that person. So when somebody claims GMA is evil, well as Erap says, “It takes one to know one”.

Think Positive-Speak Positive

YES the Filipino can and YES, there is still hope for Philippines.