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Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Legaspi: How was 2004?
By Carlos Legaspi, Jr.
Questions That Matter
MERRY Christmas and a prosperous New Year to one and all. Or make it Happy Three Kings!
Allow me to compensate my absence during the Christmas season by giving you this three-part essay about the year that has closed. We hear of the great year-ender reports from all forms of media. We read on magazines, dailies, specials or bulletins their great analysis and write-ups of the year that was. I am not spared of this bug. But I will try not to be so political or cultural about this "looking back" issue. Nor will I be too religious about this "historical analysis." I promise not to be philosophical and psychological. I will make this a little logical analysis of the events in the past year hat had helped shape us to be better persons or worse.
The first three months of 2004 were devoted to all the courtships by politicians. We have not read anything on paper or hear on television newsworthy events, all we hear were all the good deed (were they really???) of "senator, congressman, governor, mayor and politicians-to be." The headlines were speculations about the great event in May. The first three months were very swift that only a few gave attention to the realities in the surroundings.
"Questions that Matter" was not spared of the bug. I was also "in". I wrote a lot about the Philippine political circus. I tried to talk about the state of politics in the Philippines. I wrote something about the disrespect to the Philippine politics. I also wrote something to remind myself of a "conscience vote or choice". With the "trapos," "gwapos," "gagos" and "politicos" in our present government, all I could say was that all reminders that were given were inutile and futile. Anyway, I guess it would take a disaster or a calamity to remind us of the need of a better leader. So, the bug seeped into my being that I was preparing myself for a very eventful and interesting month ahead.
May came without people paying attention to the "Flores de Mayo" but everyone was so crazy over their robots and their roosters in the political arena. Everyone was ready to shed his sweat and blood for his/her candidate. Everyone was ready to spare sleepless nights to protect the interest of their candidates (also their interests). Actors and actresses were a common sight during campaign assemblies. Many were made overnight celebrities. Many church workers were so busy in reminding everyone of the religious choice. In fact, a church leader threw in his holy clothes in the political arena but to no avail, we still needed a conventional and traditional leader. The country was not ready for a religious charismatic LEADER nor another "silver screen"-trained leader (May he rest in peace). The D-day everyone was expecting arrived and "status quo" won every expectation. The nation was afraid of "change." We were afraid to move on, we wanted a comfortable status quo.
Classes set in and everyone was so busy preparing for the school of Maria and Junior. Election protests were filed here and there. Media were up to their necks running here and there just to catch up with the hundreds and hundreds of election protests. We know and understand very well that these protests will never and will only see justice three or four years later. School opened with smiles on the faces of many parents. They have money from their politicians (selling their votes and their children's future). Smiles and bundles of money were inside the pockets of unscrupulous vote-sellers in the May elections. The honest voter felt really cheated by the fraudulent and corrupt election in the past month.
Many children in college have not returned because of broken promises of political scholarships that were to be awarded if X won in the elections. The children's future were either shattered or jeopardized. Tears running down the cheeks of many students were seen outside schools, for they wanted to continue but who will spend for them? Poor children and poor Philippine nation. Luzon once again was devastated by floods that many schools and structures were submerged in water. Can't the government do anything about this recurring problem in that part of the country? But with what the Arroyo administration is prioritizing, Luzon will be submerged in water for six years or more or maybe underwater by the next two years. It took us years before "lahar" left Luzon. The problem of flood has been there since time immemorial.
The months ahead were characterized by the shocking revelation of no less than President-elect Arroyo of a fiscal crisis in the Philippines. Majority of the Dobermans and leeches in her administration came out with all the solutions to the crises being faced by the administration and passed on to the people. Out-of-this world solutions were presented to the ordinary Filipino to make us believe that we are to be blamed for this fiscal crises. Masochists as we are, we really felt that it is the people to be blamed, so we tighten our belts while the administration monsters and poodles were wasting what we have saved. The Philippine government was protecting the large investors and capitalists at the expense of the Filipino people's savings and taxes.
Basic services were not delivered well because of the fiscal crisis being experienced. So, we helped them and gave them all the support, so the country survived he crises with our help and not by the foreign economic monsters. It is us who really bought out the country from economic collapse. This is not yet the end. The second part of the series will come out next.
(For comments, send email to ecaloy@yahoo.com.sg)
(January 4, 2005 issue)
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