My mind wanders aimlessly especially on those moments when I’m about to fall asleep. Ideas seem to appear when the tug-of-war battle between wakefulness and sleep begins. One time, I rehashed the news I’ve seen on TV as well as the articles I’ve read online.
Wide awake at 1am with no internet to aid in making myself sleepy, I have mentally composed a status on what I’ve seen in the news nowadays. Upon realizing that it would make too long of a status given that I have a lot of opinions when it comes to these topics, I quickly made an outline on my phone’s notepad as seen below:
Then a Eureka moment – this can be a good article material for my blog! Apart from keeping this space light and unbiased, I cannot help but share my deep convictions about things that matter. I promise this is a read that will be worth your while. 🙄
Not sure where to start so allow me to ask, have you seen the news? What’s your stand on the issues we’re facing? Do you still have faith in our government amidst the political blunders? The abovementioned questions are deemed critical and I can go on and on sharing my opinion on those topics in particular. In this post, I have rounded up my top reasons on why I have completely lost faith in the Philippine government. You may not concur to some of the things I point out however, we can always agree to disagree, right? Needless to say, everything I’ve written on this post is entirely subjective. My views are so random I do not know how to begin, but here’s what I think:
I firmly believe that we do not need another long list of new laws except for those that would serve us well in the current modern setting. We can barely implement the existing ones, can we handle more? I am not even sure if our system deliberately follows what’s written in the Constitution. From what I see, laws whether old new are observed inadvertently. Not trying to be trivial but there’s a person having utmost power and control who is lost in own chauvinistic point of view (if you know who I mean).
Reason #1 IT’S ALL ABOUT REPUTATION — If there’s one thing this administration truly cares about then it is about how they are being perceived by the public eye. The blame games are a common happening especially in times of crisis. There’s no sense of urgency during disaster as well. Remember Yolanda? It required national help but all they did was blame the LGU saying they were unprepared. In all honesty, who can prepare for the biggest storm ever recorded? What’s worse? I doubt those millions worth of donations were noted in writing by the DSWD.
With worldwide media coverage, the epalitikos (Ehem… Roxas!) took it as a chance to gain pogi points FFS! The ending? He made a fool of himself! Well, good for him! When interviewed, the president as expected acted as if everything is handled well when in reality, it is not. He even had the guts to refuse help from foreign countries.
Honestly, I never heard the current administration owning up on undesirable mishaps. When all else fails, they simply blame the past admins dating all the way back to the Marcos regime. Former President Gloria is his favorite target too pulling out all strings to make her detention a bit more uncomfortable. I do not think she was ever proven guilty out of all the crimes she was accused of so why is she unlawfully confined?
If you follow social accounts like Showbiz Government and Get Real Philippines then you probably know that most of the projects PNoy is taking credit for during his early years were PGMA’s and not his. Smooth move Mister credit-grabber! You can read about his shameless act here: 7.1% growth is not due to Aquinomics, it’s a continuation of GMA’s use of Keynesian Economics
How to measure reputation? Ratings! Ratings! Ratings! Who cares if most of the Filipinos are unemployed or food poor, the good news (and the only thing that matters) is that the president’s approval ratings are up. Ha! Who are we kidding here? 🙄
Next, let’s talk about PRIDE which the present administration seems to have bottomless supply of and the main reason of the outcomes aforementioned. This administration lacks foreign diplomacy. Our government can’t even say sorry to countries who are involved to the unfortunate incidents that happened here. Is it really that hard to do? Remember the Quirino grandstand hostage crisis? Did we apologize to HK? What about those Taiwanese fishermen who were shot by a Philippine coast guard? Did we extend our efforts to assure Taiwan that we are doing everything we can on the said investigation? No! The president being the brat that he is simply sent someone else to do it for him which of course resulted in an unfavorable outcome. “Acting like a spoiled brat” is the only thing I can compare his actions to when I try to search for analogies. Oops!
Reason #2 CHURCH AND OTHER RELIGIOUS GROUPS — I can’t stress just how annoying church involvement can be! Whether it is about a controversial bill being filed, senate hearings, political issues, or newly approved laws, you can be sure that the CBCP, cardinals, and archbishops have their own say about that. Maybe it’s their way of conditioning the minds of the believers. This is not only limited to the Catholic entity, other religious groups are part of the problem too! With guaranteed support from the leaders, politicians can say yes or no on certain bills that is based on the congregation’s vote. Whatever their agenda, how about they back off a little bit and let the government do what it’s supposed to? After all, they are tax-exempted fellas!
REASON #3 MEDIA MANIPULATION — Warning: The Yellow Media is growing!
Nowadays, the news seems cherry-picked and fake. Hello? Asking media people to feature or write more good news? That sounds off! Let them do their respective jobs and as for the executive branch, putting plans into actions might help.
At times I think PNoy is only putting effort in something when it is almost due to deliver SONA. A case of beating up the deadline albeit submitting a report haphazardly done. Try watching nightly news on TV and compare it with freethinking news sites. I bet you’ll see a significant difference based on how the news or facts are delivered. Broadcast media, being one that is widely available and patronized by the masses, can easily become a tool for manipulating people. Swaying one’s opinion is relatively possible especially when it comes to high-profile cases and televised hearings. Trial by publicity, as what they say. What I hate the most about it is that the jurors have all the more questionable reputations!
REASON #4 CORRUPTION — Speaking of senate jurors, are the ones presiding the infamous case all clean with their respective PDAF allocations? One can only wonder. What about the fishy DAP fund given to them after a Corona impeachment case’s guilty verdict? Are those ‘bonuses’ legit?
The Philippines collects trillions worth of tax each year. With such enormous amount, millions are allocated for the majority and minority lawmakers’ special projects. These so-called special projects are called Priority Development Assistance Fund or PDAF. Where do they pour out their funds? Most of it were untraceable, non-existent (ghost projects) or overpriced. They channel it on industries like the following:
Farming – The favorite PDAF project but want to know who the real victims are? Our poor farmers who didn’t even know such special projects even existed! Had the pseudo loan programs been implemented, these people could have sufficient capital to finance their livelihood. Sad to say, only their names and signatures were used to launder millions from public funds and into their pockets. And oh, there will be access to fertilizers too, not the scam brouhaha. However, the craziest among all these fakeries would have to be… Cong. Binay’s 16-million Bulate Project!
When I first heard it on the news I was like, “Dafuq is this shit?”. How can one justify spending millions on a (lame) vermiculture project?
On a serious note, when I took BSN course in college, community immersions allowed me to witness what condition the farmers are in. For us who are only there for a short period of time, we welcomed the change of scenery and rural living. For the residents, their life is kind of primitive. You get to see their bahay kubo on stilts and that little space serves as their sleeping, dining, and living area. They don’t have much. Some of them don’t even own the land they farm and they have no choice but to loan (to private enterprises) in order to sustain farming expenses. Imagine a Php 5000 profit – that’s the amount they gain in one planting season, a farmer shared. There are 2-3 planting seasons in a year so feel free to do the math!
Health — As a student nurse during my college years, part of our curriculum requires clinical duty exposure to public hospitals. When you first enter the hospital premises, it can be difficult to comprehend that these institutions actually have allocated budget. Employees and medical staff have to make-do with whatever supply is available and that includes turning empty IV bottles into a DIY urinal or graduated containers. You can’t help but feel sorry – for the staff who are unable to deliver quality care, for the hospital for not having the best state-of-the-art facilities, and most of all to the patients who deserve more than what they’re getting. The medicines, rooms, and even the gauze used should be free. Unfortunately, they are not.
Education — Education is every Filipino’s right. It is free. Therefore, illiteracy is not an option. Agree? Not every president valued education like former Pres. Marcos did. Nobody can outdo the number of projects, schools and universities he built during his administration. I know he ruled for decades but still. I don’t think the leaders who came after him can top the number of schools, hospitals, arts center, and infrastructures he has made even if you add it all up.
The lack of education plays a role in our present situation. People who live in far-flung areas are being hauled by huge trucks to Comelec when election period starts. Signing up new voters takes so much effort, don’t you think? Their votes add up numbers to candidates who paid for it. Are their votes of value? Did these people think critically on whose names they’re going to write on the ballot? I’m not judging here. I merely find it as a loophole for aspiring candidates into cheating their way up to the coveted seat. Personally, I think education or being literate to say the least should be a prerequisite to the right of suffrage. Not only that, it should be a prerequisite in any government position too. It is somewhat unfair how an average Pinoy has to be civil service eligible to work in a government office but high-ranking politicians who barely made it to college are part of legislative (lawmaking) body. Unfair, huh? Think about it!
Privatization or Public-Private Partnership Program (Philippines) or PPP– You can see in the infographic above showing the current administration having the most projects. I honestly don’t know what to think about this program or how it can benefit us. It appears like another corporate investment on what could have been a solely government-owned project but that’s just me. With all the privatization going on, I think our government is losing its grip in terms of control. Now, corporate conglomerates can increase their price all they want (reasonable or not) and there is little the government can do.
Read this Huffington Post article citing the conflict with Privatization in the Philippines: The Privatization Dilemma.
Electricity, water, gas, fare, and other day-to-day expenses are increasing as if it’s on an incremental price hike. An average Filipino worker is being gangraped by tax, overpriced commodities, and bills! There’s no middle class anymore. We experience such struggles daily despite the surveys, statistics, and the research stating otherwise by insinuating that the quality of life is improving for Filipinos. There is a decline in the number of food poor not to mention more job opportunities for the unemployed. Well, you be the judge. The reality cannot be unseen that the poor gets poorer and the rich gets richer. I find it very appalling that the administration could care less about public welfare. Fact: Only 40 families own as much as 80% of the country’s overall GDP. It strikes to me as oligarch-centered and the “Kayo ang boss ko!” line isn’t really meant for the mass.
Going back to corruption, this act is not exclusive to millions of funds untraceable. It exists even in a society’s basic unit, the barangay. A barangay captain’s salary isn’t worth much but many are eyeing for this position. A friend of mine who works in a barangay office became a silent witness to the shady businesses involved there. Through my friend’s stories, I discovered that local officials can get thousands worth of kickback in one voucher alone. The capitan got 10k kickback for his overpriced medicines. That being said, imagine how much money you can squander from the barangay’s basic expenses for supplies or projects in one term!
See? These kinds of people are there because we let them. We voted. We got bribed. I’m no exception, I’m guilty of such doing. Admittedly, I got Php 700 richer after the election but I still voted for those candidates I believe in. Now, those who are elected in position are just getting back what they’ve lost (or invested) and then some. We are being bribed or paid a meager amount in exchange for their long-term misuse of public fund. That’s the Filipino people’s fund, all our taxes combined.
REASON #5 USING MEDICAL JARGON — When push comes to shove, lo and behold, the accused suddenly has ailments coming out and needing some sort of urgent medical attention. Headaches become migraines. Exhaustion or tiredness becomes nervous breakdown or a serious stress-related health condition. Wow! What an emergency! You see, even the usage of terms defines where you belong in the social strata. It’s a way to gain public sympathy but first things first, the accused must seek refuge to wheelchairs, hotshot doctors, and (over the top) private hospitals! Duh, a very obvious not-so-clever move!
As the drama goes on, even the blind can see how they’re given special treatment as exercised by our judicial system. It’s baffling how these people are outright shameless to request house/hospital arrest instead doing time in prison. They are clearly in no position to complain about their detention cells having pesky rodents and such. Have you forgotten? You weren’t given a vacation leave mister so don’t treat your cells like some high-class villa! Guess what, real prisons don’t have the amenities like yours do so live with it. To add, I even saw a meme comparing the detention cells to those of overpriced Yolanda bunkhouses and unsurprisingly, their so-called jail wins by a mile. Tsk!
“Honorable” politicians throwing shit/calling names at each other during sessions, bending the laws through unconstitutional schemes, and persuasion of a jury’s final verdict through legal though questionable ‘suhols’ – all are unsightly fiascos that make me cringe! Countless anomalies, intrigues, and controversies everywhere. What has our nation become? Where did the love for our country go? Bottomline, GREED SUPERCEDES PATRIOTISM. All of this fake Pinoy pride and do-gooder facade needs to go down the drain. Like the name of benign0’s powerful blog, get real Philippines!
We Filipinos need to wake up and realize the government is fucking us up bigtime! Rally after rally, impeachment after impeachment, if the newly elected leader is the same as the old then we as a nation will get nowhere. Things could only get worse overtime unless we wise up and clear government seats of the old trapo, dynasties, and those who are unqualified/incapable but famous for name recall. Quit patronizing cheap baduy advertisements and avoid falling for false assurances during campaigns. Remember, they’re willingly spending millions for a reason. Scrutinize credentials, achievements, principles, vision, plans, and propaganda first before anything else. Spark a change; a good one so to speak. When it comes to national concerns, let’s start by being smart. Everyone, now is the time to wise up!
There you go, I’ve said my piece albeit a long one. I hope you learned something out of this article!
Stay wicked!
😈