DURING the week before last, I attended the new Sun.Star Bacolod’s first anniversary. It was a pleasant evening and I had the chance of meeting many of my fellow columnists. As I anticipated, we are an eclectic group. We are, however, joined by Sun.Star’s vision which states “Establish Sun.Star Bacolod as a refuge for the lowly and the downtrodden, to speak for the deprived that have no voice in the corridors of power, to serve as a weapon to fight abuse and injustice, and to stand as a beacon of hope in society’s hour of darkness.”

Downtrodden is a word that strongly resonates. It provides me with a platform that I often use in my articles. Downtrodden – being oppressed or treated badly by people in power – explicitly refers to our faulty governance. It is the “people in power” (not people power!) and their inappropriate assumption of ascendancy over the rest of us that is deeply unpleasant and profoundly undemocratic.

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This theme will be a template for many future articles.

Sadly, the ascendancy attribute, wrongly applied, is not confined to the public sector. The private sector, particularly in banking and insurance, is pullulating with examples of usurpation of authority.

It is getting worse. Financial institutions are increasingly losing sight of whose funds they are dealing with. My excoriations are not general. There are many dedicated men and women who understand that their role is to do their best to meet customer/client requirements.

There is also the concept, beloved by tourism officials, of Filipino hospitality. In a tourism context, this idea is all-too-often empty, but in the banking environment I have received standards of service, help and flexibility which has never been surpassed in my experience in other parts of the world. I would like to salute Security Bank’s Anton and Sterling Bank’s Mymy in this regard.

We return to the negative. Writing in the Philippine Daily Inquirer last Friday 6 November, Raul Palabrica drew attention to arbitrary, capricious and excessive credit card fees imposed on the naïve and unwary (you and me). The situation is truly bleak. One lady found that she was being charged 9.25% compound per month. This translates to 197% per annum. 5-6 operations are the height of probity and customer care compared with some of the international credit card companies. What is more galling is that the government oversight organizations seem to ignore abuses inflicted on customers. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Insurance Commission and the pre-need companies’ friend, the Securities and Exchange Commission, all receive comfortable failing grades. They all exhibit demonstrable dysfunctionality in striking a fair balance between the interests of the financial services institutions and consumers. Future articles will provide definitive details.

What to do?

The media has serious responsibilities to critique the views of those in power or those who aspire to position of power. Without exception, those who aspire to elected office in 2010 need to clarify their electoral platforms. We look forward to much sharper questioning from interviewers. Tolerance of candidates’ empty words does not help the electorate decide who to vote for. Firm follow-up questions, confrontational if necessary, are required from interviewers when handling candidates’ meaningless rhetoric.

“. . . and to stand as a beacon of hope in society’s hour of darkness” hour?! Decades would be more appropriate. What we need to do is to ensure that we do not have to endure more decades of abuse and injustice. We can only do this if there is a sea change on the part of those in power. We do not see this happening. So we should exert pressure. How? Humiliate the corrupt. Do not allow them into our golf clubs. Ostracize them. Support those who fight corruption. How? By using whatever talents we have. The Ombudsman for the Visayas is criticized by the judge in open court for not preparing his case properly (the one about buying 1800 lampposts in Cebu for P365 million). The Visayas Ombudsman has inadequate resources. Can student lawyers, working pro bono help? I believe so.

Could it make any difference? Yes. Firstly, the culture of impunity is dented. It becomes more difficult for the corrupt ones to get away with it scot free. That in itself makes a difference.

Remember: No corruption means no downtrodden!