My family lived in one of the poorest towns in Masbate. We were subsistent farmers. My uncles and elder cousins also fished to supplement their income but what we earned was not enough to sustain us year round.
We did not feel the presence of government except after typhoons when they sent each family three cans of sardines and a couple of gantas of rice.
I decided to go to school. I saw it as the only way to escape poverty. Primary education was free; high school was an entirely different experience. Too many times, I had to stand before the flag pole during periodical tests along with other students whose parents were also unable to pay their tuition fees.
I left my hometown and worked my way through college in Cebu. All but a few of my cousins stayed behind. I became a lawyer, they remained farmers and fishermen. We all remain poor, my relatives and I, but at least I have a health plan and Pag-Ibig to take care of me in time of need. They did not.
One of them died early this year. Heart attack. His condition was diagnosed early but he had no money for the operation. He had to be discharged from the hospital because the bills were mounting. He was left to die in his modest bed in a modest home.
Last month, death visited the family again from the same ailment. He was my nephew and he lived in Palawan where my brother brought them when the barren land in Masbate yielded even less harvest.
The doctors said my nephew had to be brought to a better-equipped hospital in the capital city so a heart bypass can be had. He never made it there. We still had to raise
the money.
Billions have been lost in the flood control scam in the Department of Public Works and Highways. The money could have been put to better use like improving public health care. Who knows, my cousin and my nephew would have been alive. I take the thievery personally.
They’re investigating the crime, no, make that the crimes. Charges will be filed. The contractors will most probably be convicted and jailed. The senators and congressmen? Even if also convicted, they will eventually be set free because of their connections. I know the drill.
Corruption + poverty + injustice. That’s the perfect formula for rebellion.