Viewpoints
Pitiful Filipinos
By +Oscar V. Cruz, JCD
“WE, the sovereign Filipino people…” Thus begins the proclamation of the noble ideals and aspirations of the People of the Philippines in nothing less than the “Preamble” of their present Constitution. Among their other sublime yearnings and noble resolves, the following are expressly and clearly mentioned: A government that shall embody their ideals; the blessings of independence and democracy; and, the regime of truth, justice, and freedom. All these can be said as the fundamental designs and legitimate desires of Filipinos all over the country. But pitiful Filipinos.
Pitiful because they are instead wallowing in poverty and misery – notwithstanding all suspect and repeated surveys to the contrary. This is why in order to get rid of pitiful Filipinos, make sure that they are not born at all. The less Filipinos there are, the less poor Filipinos there are as well. This is the basic rationale behind the Population Control that is now supposedly under TRO before the Supreme Court – but not for long.
Pitiful because they are ignorant. Their ignorance is not simply on account of lack of educational facilities but also due to the prohibitive cost of education itself. And those who are duly educated one way or another are, however, still kept ignorant of what their government is doing – the good it is not doing and the evil it is perpetrating. How? Simple! Do not allow the Freedom of Information Bill become a law.
Pitiful because instead of democracy, they are now being slowly but surely being made subject to autocracy, more concretely in terms of political dynasties – ruling wealthy and powerful families from the national to the local government, down to the basic Barangay level. The more hungry and destitute the people are, the more such autocrats surface in the country.
Pitiful because while the letter of the law says that there are three co-equal branches of government – the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judicial Departments – the truth is that the Executive Branch of the government managed to put the other two in its two pockets. Such is conveniently done by the use of public funds for its own egoistic purposes.
Pitiful because now, there is precisely nothing less than a real and practical reigning “Fiscal Dictatorship” in the country. This is according to a former Senator who is known for his integrity and candor. In its simple understanding, it is a dictatorial leadership buoyed up by nothing less than the reservation and control of public funds – such as in the form of grating or withholding money from the huge Presidential Pork Barrel.
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