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Monday, May 16, 2005
The enemy within
By Orlando P. Carvajal
Uncut gems
Bishop Cruz is right. To solve the jueteng problem, all the President has to do is order it stopped instead of ordering endless investigations of high government officials' alleged involvement in jueteng. Jueteng is not at all helping the masses of poor Filipinos. The real winners of jueteng are the few financiers and their coddlers in government. If it cannot be stopped, we have to wonder why? Is it that the government is playing politics with the gambling lords or are high government officials really on the take?
Bishop Labayen is also right. For criticizing government policy as pro-foreign, he was lumped with the group that called for the ouster of the President. But, as he clarified, he only wanted to reach out to her so she would listen to the pleas of the people. Why is the present administration so paranoid about criticism over the way it is addressing or not addressing the priority problems of the country, namely poverty and criminality? Why can it not listen to this criticism with openness and do something to erase the roots of it?
And what about the killing of journalists? The fact that the Philippines is the deadliest country for journalists tells me two things. One, we have brave and uncompromising journalists and I salute them. You would think, for instance, after a few of them have been killed violently, that journalists would stop or at least tone down their advocacy of truth and justice. No, instead they continue to make their unequivocal voices heard and read, knowing full well that out there are people who would rather silence them than correct their evil ways. And two, we have authorities who are either silently happy about their deaths or just plain inept at putting a stop to the killing of these brave advocates of truth. Yes Virginia, there is freedom of the press in the Philippines but the authorities are unable to protect those who dare exercise this freedom. Again, we ask why. And do we become the enemy now for asking why?
The enemy is not out there. It is not communism which simply feeds on the failure of government to uplift the life of the many poor and obscure in this country. It is not the few bishops, priests, and journalists that are vocal in their criticism of government. These people must be heard and everything valid about their criticism acted upon positively and boldly. Martial Law once silenced all dissent and look at how much we have lagged behind our prosperous neighbors since then. Myanmar is even poorer than we are and look who's running the show there.
For sure, some people criticize the government in order to create a critical mass for another people's revolution. Many, most of us however, are plain simple folks that just want a modicum of peace and prosperity in our lives. We do not want trouble. We criticize to help government get on the right track in solving the country's problems. We are not the enemy. The enemy is whatever (or is it whoever?) prevents the present administration from listening to criticism and from taking bold steps to solve what really is the country's number one enemy, POVERTY. (opc@sunstar.com.ph)
(May 16, 2005 issue)
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