Viewpoints
Around the world in seven days
By +Oscar V. Cruz D. D.
From poor, pitiful and hungry Manila, someone took a costly and luxurious flight to Davos – the playground of the rich and the famous. From Davos the same expense-unlimited tourist flew to Milan with its fabulous shops and classy lifestyle. From Milan the said discriminating traveler comfortably enplaned to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to gleefully rubbed elbows with potentates and royalties.
From Bahrain, the then royal-feeling elite passenger took to the air en route to distant mighty Washington in order to hunt and meet a world famous somebody – all under the pious and religious guise of attending a breakfast prayer meeting. While it was not known if the hunter even prayed at all, it was however very certain and certified that the hunted remained unmoved, unaffected and unimpressed. And the downcast and dejected class-traveler went back from powerful Washington to helpless and still miserable Manila.
By the way, the said fabulous and self-pampering around-the-world flight in seven days – the first class apparels, first class seats, first class hotels and accommodations – was all at the expense of the more and more empty handed Filipinos. Notwithstanding the much alleged and well staged public interests as squarely behind the enviable trip totally paid by public funds – just like so many other distinctly expensive trips before – the standing fact of the matter remains the exactly same: Personal glory and pride over and above all public good and national interests. Thus, while the whole body is basically hungry and practically naked, its supposed head customarily and merrily travels with style and in fashion to this and that part of the world. Thereafter, for sure and always, the whole nation is made to listen to glorious and glowing after-travel reports. And that’s it!
The constant excuse and tiring rationalization of all such high-prized cr even over-priced foreign travels are infallibly the same, viz., for the good of the people, for the development of the Country, for the welfare of the generations yet to come. But lo and behold, after no less than some eight year long of super-visions plus super-predictions of a well traveled ruler, the ruled have much less on hand to count, much less reason to hope for a better future – not to mention much more discontent at heart, much more distrust in mind, much more ire behavior.
Something is definitely wrong – not to say devious and dangerous – with the present leadership of the country. Instead of leading the people forward for the better, the worst is instead achieved. Instead of making people its master, their leader makes them as slaves serving chattels of government export and profit. Instead of making their continuous and heavy taxation in favor of better public service, more education and progressive development, lo and behold, exactly opposite emerges as reality. The questions then have been long the same: How long could the Filipinos afford to indulge in apathy and helplessness? To what extent are they willing to stand down, stay still, do nothing?
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