Sunday, February 18, 2007
Luab: The language of money
By Evelyn R. Luab
Light Sunday
LAST Friday evening, Feb. 9, I watched two political analysts give their estimate on how much is needed to make a senatorial candidate a “winnable” one.
One said that if a candidate belonged to the top six in a survey, he would only need P100 million to project his image.
However, if he fell below the sixth rank, he would need around P250 million.
My jaw fell. In my simple mind I said, “That much? Only for advertising?”
All my life, I’ve never seen so much money being spent in so short a time. Blame my thrifty forbears but it takes years for anyone to amass such wealth the honest way. Earning that much surely existed only in my dreams! Even winning the lottery would not give enough money to win on election today!
Have we somehow reached a stage where it’s perfectly okay for us to be bought? Maybe not in the outright receiving of paper bills, but through a popularity contest.
The information I received was that for an ad on TV, which would run for so many minutes only, the fee is P48,000. Stickers, banners and giveaways were definitely part of the projected expenses. Can popularity buy our votes?
My simple mind again told me that it only takes about P4,000 to P6,000 to start a small business in candle making, producing peanut candies, pinisi, bibingka, pastilles, etc. (all local, fast-selling delicacies). Imagine what so much election money can do if spent to start the poor on the road to recovery!
It takes about P50,000 to start a repacking business in sugar, salt, lard, patis (fish sauce), etc. I thought that wanting to help our brothers consisted of teaching our brothers how to fish so he could eat! Why is it now that money has become the bait?
Another piece of news that bothered me was that a certain church in Cebu is seriously thinking of having its huge church air-conditioned. Again, wow! That would take millions of pesos! True, many of its parishioners could raise the needed millions.
However, should that be the priority of the church? By the way, the church does not only mean the parish priests; it includes the members of the church community and even the churchgoers!
I remember the late Fr. Rudolf and the homily he gave at the Capitol Parish one Lenten season. There occurred a brownout. It was very obvious that he was perspiring profusely because the church was full and all the electric fans had stopped. With a grin, he wiped off his perspiration with his handkerchief and kidded us. He said, “Well, it’s good to be reminded once in a while. Now you know what it is going to be like in hell.”
We, of course, laughed but I thought about his remark after the Holy Mass and agreed that sometimes, we need to be reminded that life isn’t always comfortable.
All of us, Filipinos, know how much heat we can withstand before we start feeling uncomfortable. However, the Holy Mass takes only at most an hour. Why in heaven’s name are people willing to spend millions just to feel comfortable for an hour?
There is so much the church can do instead of waste its money on air-cons and its upkeep. There are feeding stations to be had, scholars to be sent to school, families to be saved from starvation, etc.
I say this in jest! How about donating “native fans” for each pew? We would even be helping our local fan making industry.
My heart bleeds every time election time approaches. I know that businessmen will donate funds for campaign purposes.
Prices of the products they sell will rise. So poor Juan de la Cruz will not realize that for the money he be might be tempted to receive come election day, he will have to pay back in the months and years to come.
If a candidate receives millions as donations to his campaign kitty, can he still remain independent minded when it comes to a discussion on issues that may affect his donors? I don’t know. Do you?
Money speaks but it should speak in a language that has full compassion for its constituents.
Every election time, people in places where light and water are absent hope for a miracle. Somehow they hope that because it’s election time, light and water will finally come their way.
Health care is a much sought after palliative. Creation of jobs would be a very laudable project! Yet this is only a promise during the election period.
The poor turn to the church for guidance and for help. Are mansions, lavish dinners, and a lifestyle of the affluent the church’s answer to the pleas from their parishioners? True, it’s only a few recalcitrant people in the vast population of the church’s hierarchy that’s giving a black eye to our church. But sad to say, there is an increasing number now of the black sheep in a fold of white sheep.
Can we at least put compassion high on our list of priorities and forget our individual greed, (which includes desire for fame and power at all costs) and our personal aversion to discomfort?
Let money speak but in a language beneficial to our brothers in need!
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (February 18, 2007 issue)
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