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Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Carvajal: Bleakness only at the top
By Orlando P. Carvajal
A friend commented that the picture I painted last Saturday of the political scene in the country was rather bleak.
She was right. The picture I had in mind in fact was pretty grim. Nevertheless, she said to carry on. Right she was again. No matter how bleak we must carry on with our resolve to put our two-cents worth into social reform.
We must carry on because the picture is bleak only at the top. The elite of our society have lost all credibility. The hard-line positions they have taken vis-à-vis the Charter change points clearly to only one single motive: protection and preservation of their privileged status under any system of government. The welfare of the Filipino is nowhere in their sights regardless of whether they are for or against Charter change.
We must carry on because there is plenty of daylight away from the seats of power. In the rural areas people keep their smiles even as they grimly eke out a living. They know their leaders have betrayed them but they are determined more than ever to improve their lives in spite of that betrayal.
They go abroad for work, they work in the underground economy, they save, make sacrifices to educate their children and we have the phenomenon of rural areas dotted with the houses of successful Filipinos who do not allow their incompetent, irresponsible and selfish leaders get in the way of their success.
There is also daylight below in another sense. It is not the elite but rather the small government bureaucrats with their petty thieving that is making life miserable for ordinary folks. Petty bureaucrats enjoy a brisk business of making every transaction with government difficult.
Getting permits, transferring land titles, claiming pensions, renewing licenses are the day-to-day horror stories that people have to put up with. Dealing with government bureaucrats is emotionally, physically and financially draining and downright exasperating. Again a few exceptions prove the rule.
We can give up on our politicians but we can do something about the petty thieves below in our government offices. We can work to keep them honest and make life just a little more convenient at ground zero. We can do it because they are vulnerable to public shame and pressure and are not as insulated as the big politicians and high government officials.
We can make daylight if we took care of the business of wiping out corruption among petty bureaucrats in the PNP, in the DepEd, and DPWH, to name just a few.
It does not matter that the picture at the top is bleak. To start at the top is Quixotic anyway, like flailing at imaginary windmills. We can and we should change Philippine society from the bottom up. We have plenty of daylight to work with down there.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (May 24, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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