Saturday, June 16, 2007 Carvajal: President’s call for unity a wrong call By Orlando P. Carvajal Break Point
ON Independence Day, President Arroyo called on Filipinos to be united in the fight for “independence from poverty.” It was a wrong call by the wrong person on the wrong people.
It was not only an implicit admission that she has failed as President in fighting for the freedom of Filipinos from poverty, it was also putting the blame for that failure on the lack of unity among her countrymen.
The truth of the matter is Filipinos have long been united in calling for her to use her powers to stop corruption and address the problem of massive poverty. Team Unity’s rout in the Senate race and Antonio Trillanes’ win should have delivered to her a stirring message to come down and be one with the people in their fight for freedom from hunger, sickness and ignorance.
For many years now, Independence Day should have been the day our top government officials listened to the people’s message that they use their power of government to fight poverty and not just to promote their dynasty’s vested interests. But for many years now also, each president delivers the same call to the people to unite in the fight for freedom from want. Hence, when PGMA made the same call last June 12, it was just simply more hackneyed than ever, more insensitive than ever.
She calls for unity which is easy if she came down with her power and brought it to bear on people’s problems of poverty, powerlessness, ill health and poor education. It is easy to unite with her if she stopped corruption, extra-judicial killings and disappearances of citizens, prioritized popular education, health and wealth, and trimmed down an ill-disciplined, insensitive and lazy bureaucracy.
People all over the Philippines are one already in making great sacrifices to “gain independence from poverty.” It is our government officials that need to be united in fighting for the welfare of the Filipino. It is our government leaders who need to work harder and more sincerely for the independence of Filipinos from poverty.
Perhaps an even more accurate way of putting it is to say that the ruling elite should stop being united in keeping the power and wealth of this nation to themselves. They should be called on to share this power and wealth and empower Filipinos politically and economically. Of course, you might as well be talking to the wind.
But unless and until they do so, no matter who among them are in power, their call for unity every Independence Day will be a wrong call. The right call would be the people’s call for President Arroyo and her administration to unite with the people in their fight for a better life. We need them and the resources of their office with us in our continuing and united struggle for “independence from poverty.”
