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Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Wenceslao: Sona and those abstractions
By Bong O. Wenceslao
I was still a young man with a propensity to indulge in intellectual jousts when I first got acquainted with abstractions. And so I learned about the distinction between economics on one hand and politics, culture, etc. on the other, and their relationship. Or how one aspect, say, economic, can weigh down the others and hinder overall growth.
That is why I straightened up when I heard President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, in her hit show called the State of the Nation Address or Sona the other day, chide our politicians (that should include her) and mention the “story of how our political system has now become a hindrance to our national progress.” The magic word? Hindrance.
That drew me for a time into abstractions, or specifically, what is referred to in dialectical materialism as “contradictions.” The President spun an economy versus politics conflict, which brought me to the great egg-versus-chicken debate. Like, isn’t the truth the reverse: that our economic setup has hindered our march to political maturity?
Here’s one reality: political warlordism draws its strength from landlordism. Why do you think, for example, that hacienderos (trapos) perpetually get elected to the “lower” House? Because of the wealth they are sucking from the sweat of poor farmers. Break the landlords hold and free the peasants economically and warlordism will wither away.
But sorry, dear readers, I am not about to stray deep into that argument--the debate there has always been endless. But I reckon that’s enough to ignite a spark somewhere in the intellect, and guide our future actions. Like this other point that the President’s Sona virtually raised: the relation between the political system and politicians.
When we talk about shifting from presidential to a unicameral-federal system, one inevitably asks: is the problem the system or the people running it? If the problem is the political system, let’s change it. But what if the problem is the kind of politicians we have, would a shift to another system matter? Or is this but a case of changing collars?
What I am saying is, there’s nothing simplistic in our situation, like what the President’s Sona tended to claim especially on the matter of politics. You pull one thread, say charter change, and you discover that many other issues are clinging to it. Economics versus politics. Political system versus politicians. Okay, let the “great debate” begin.
TEXTREAX. This one is from Councilor Rolly de la Cruz of Ronda, Cebu: “Rep. Clavel Asas-Martinez signing the impeachment complaint is a great embarrassment for Cebuanos. I now consider the Martinezes political butterflies.”
(khanwens@yahoo.com/0927-2055064)
(July 27, 2005 issue)
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