Velez: Hero to zero

BEFORE the elections, Duterte would kiss the flag, and boast that he will ride a jetski and plant that flag in Scarborough and die for the country.

Last April 9, on the Day of Valor, Duterte flew to China, planted sweet words like: "I simply love (China's President) Xi Jinping, he understands my problem."

The irony that it happened on the Day of Valor which commemorates the death of around 5,000 to 18,000 Filipino and 600 American soldiers during in the Death March from Bataan to Pampanga during the Japanese invasion in World War II.

The DDS would argue that we are not at war. In this age of pragmatic Dutertismo, China is the Pinoy's best friend for the “Build, Build, Build.” Besides, we have DCLA and other surplus stores in Uyanguren to show our partnership.

Never mind that DCLA and other China surplus stores give a measly 100 pesos for its workers. Never mind the logic that a European Union aid is different from a China loan, where the former is given with not much strings attached. EU likes to remind the president about human rights as indicator of real development and democracy.

Duterte may argue that the ties with China is historic and is in keeping with a strong Asian neighbor. And China does have billions to spend, with all its surplus profits from running sweatshops and factories.

But one wonders how this will hold amidst this tension in the global sphere, where China is exercising military power over Asia, and the US is tense with Russia, another Philippine partner, over their proxy war in Syria.

It seems amidst all this talks of loans, and rumors of wars, “Build, Build, Build” and TRAIN, where does the average Pinoy stand to gain in all this?

And to go back to our theme, who needs heroes when money is the name of the game?

And let's think about those phrases that said the working class is the hero. But recently, service workers in Jollibee and McDonalds are struggling against Endo. Some 670 Coca-Cola workers nationwide have been laid off through the agency hiring scheme. That explains why some 70 Coke workers in Davao are striking against the Endo.

They remember Duterte vowed to champion the workers' cause by banning contractualization. That didn't happen.

Let's think about the farmers, who are also called heroes for toiling to bring us food. This week, a nationwide fact-finding mission that included three regions in Mindanao, showed farmers are being turned into fake NPA surrenderers.

It seems things have been turned upside down. If we call the working class, the toiling farmers, and we might as well call the teachers as heroes, we don't give them the honor and dignity of a living wage that make them feel as such.

Who needs heroes nowadays? They only appear in Marvel and DC. And if that's the case, the one who boasted about riding a jetski is just like a fictional Deadpool or a clown prince incarnate with a deadly joke.

*****

tyvelez@gmail.com

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