Much More Time, Much Less Accomplished
July 25, 2009 by
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By Bro. Eddie C. Villanueva
Today, with another State of the Nation Address to be delivered in a little over 24 hours, the nation is once again led to look back to the now more than eight and a half years – 8 years, 6 months and 6 days or 3,109 days, to be exact – under the leadership of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who, with the exception of Ferdinand Marcos, has occupied the highest office of the land far longer than any other president of the country.
This, as every Filipino knows, is much more than what our hallowed Constitution would normally allow for the leader of our nation.
Madame Arroyo has had much more time and opportunity to use the tremendous powers of the Presidency to uplift the lives of 92 million Filipinos.
She has had much more time and opportunity to fight the scourge of poverty among our people, meet every Filipino family’s basic needs, steer and set on a more stable course the country’s socio-economic-political development and inspire hope in our children and youth for a bright and meaningful future.
She has had much more time and opportunity to bridge age-old divisions plaguing Philippine society, to rally the nation behind one shared vision of prosperity and sustainable development, and to make Filipinos proud of their race, their cultural heritage, and their inherent excellence.
She had much more time and opportunity to strengthen our institutions of governance, restore Filipinos’ trust in their government and public servants, and make the government truly a government of the people, by the people and for the people, serving the common good.
Yes, she has had much more time – well beyond the six years our current Constitution gives a Philippine President. She has stayed that long not out of the will of the wide majority of the Filipino people, but out of her own desire and devious machinations.
Now, there are unmistakable indications that she is determined to grab for herself even more time than she has already had and regularly allotted by the Constitution.
The natural question to ask is: What has she done all of this time to justify inflicting herself and her minions on all of us for even more time to come? What would justify her staying one minute more in power beyond noon of June 30, 2010?
Anong kabutihan ba ang kaniyang nagawa na magbibigay katwiran na ipagpilitan pa rin niya at ng kanyang mga kampon na manatili pa nang lalong matagal sa kapangyarihan?
What even justifies her having had much more time already than any other President this country has ever had other than her seeming inspiration and role model, the deposed dictator Marcos?
Sa anong katwiran maipagtatanggol na nagkaroon siya ng higit na mahabang panahon ng pamumuno kaysa lahat ng iba nating mga naging pangulo, maliban sa napatalsik na diktador na si Marcos?
Five QuestionsThis is a question not to be answered with glowing statistics of economic growth or similar aggregate indicators. Wala po sa magagandang statistics na pinangangalandakan ng Malakanyang ang sagot sa katanungang iyan.
Ang dapat sumagot sa katanungang iyan ay ang mismong taongbayan, base sa karanasan nila sa ilalim ng kasalukuyang administrasyon. It is a question to be answered by people themselves based on actual impacts and outcomes on their lives of the actions of this unpopular government whose existence is determined to end by June 30, 2010.
But it is a question not to be asked of the big businessmen in Makati, or in the affluent enclaves of Cebu, Davao City and other economic centers of the country.
It is a question not to be asked of people in positions of power in the economy, politics or society, or of powerful men in uniform.
Rather, it is a question best answered by the struggling small farmer in the countryside squeezing what he can out of the constantly depleting soil; the trisikad driver plying his punishing daily route; the refugee Mindanao resident constantly on the run from hostilities not of his own making; the common housewife constantly struggling to make ends meet for her family; or the average middle-class wage worker constantly wondering how long her job will last.
And as we ask these true voices of the Filipino people what could possibly justify the much longer time this president has enjoyed over her predecessors, five simple questions are crying out to be answered (which I invite you to think about and answer for yourself):
First: Are you and your family able to provide for your basic needs better now than in 2001, when Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo first ascended to power? Mas natutugunan niyo ba ngayon ang mga pangangailangan niyo at ng inyong pamilya ngayon, kaysa noong 2001 nang unang umupo si Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sa Malakanyang?
Second: Are you feeling more healthy, safe and secure now than in 2001 in your home, in your neighborhood, and in your general environment? Nararamdaman niyo bang kayo ngayon ay mas malusog, ligtas at may seguridad sa inyong tahanan, komunidad, at buong kapaligiran, kung ikukumpara sa kalagayan niyo noong 2001?
Third: Do have greater trust and respect now than in 2001 for our government and its leaders, and their capability to help uplift your family’s well-being? Mas higit ba ngayon ang inyong tiwala at respeto sa ating pamahalaan at mga pinuno kaysa noong 2001?
Fourth: Do you have better confidence in the future of your children now than in 2001? Mas higit ba ngayon ang kompiyansa niyo sa kinabukasan ng inyong mga anak kaysa noong 2001?
And Fifth: Are you prouder of our country and of being a Filipino now than you were in 2001? Mas maipagmamalaki niyo ba ngayon ang ating bansa at ang inyong pagiging Pilipino, kaysa noong 2001?
Ang sagot po sa mga katanungang ito ng karaniwang Pilipino ang naglalahad ng tunay na kalagayan ng ating bansa. It is the answers to these questions by the ordinary Filipino that describes the true state of the nation.
Basic Needs UnmetMas natutugunan ba ngayon ang mga pangangailangan ng karaniwang pamilyang Pilipino, kaysa noong 2001? Is the average Filipino family better able to provide for their basic needs now than in 2001?
Whether we look at official statistics on human development indicators, or at countless anecdotes that are plentiful around us, we are inevitably led to conclude otherwise.
Government cannot hide the fact that poverty has risen in recent years, as its own statistics say so. The official data tell us that there were more than 4 million more poor Filipinos in 2006 than in 2003, or about 700,000 more poor families. Mahigit apat na milyon po ang naging karagdagang mahirap na Pilipino sa pagitan lamang ng 2003 at 2006, base sa official data ng pamahalaan!
Data also show declining school enrollment rates, rising school drop-out rates, and worsening nutrition among children in many parts of the country. And ironically all this have been happening at a time government was boasting brisk economic growth.
This only tells us that the glowing economic numbers don’t really tell us what we really need to know. What is more illuminating are graphic TV images showing more and more Filipinos driven to eat pagpag – ito po yung tira-tirang pagkain na kinolekta sa mga basurahan ng restaurant, hotel o bahay-bahay, na niluluto ulit para ibenta.
We have also even seen the pathetic sight of our countrymen forced to eat rats and cockroaches – daga at ipis – for lack of anything else to eat.
We have watched how more and more Filipinos are driven to sell their own kidneys and other body organs in the black market. Just a few days ago, columnist Rina David of the Philippine Daily Inquirer wrote of how more and more Filipinos have knowingly or unknowingly entered into sham marriages for the purpose only of providing a legal way for them to donate their kidneys to a foreigner needing their organs. This is after the Department of Health outlawed the open sale of such body parts.
And we all know that more and more Filipinos are constrained, even compelled and driven to leave their families behind and live a lonely life overseas to bear the yoke of often sacrificial jobs abroad, driven by sheer lack of work opportunities within our own shores.
More and more Filipinos are also driven to our uplands and coasts to squeeze an increasingly difficult living out of our denuded mountains and depleting coastal fisheries.
The record speaks for itself: through much of the Arroyo administration, the share of the national budget that went to education and health, and to infrastructure and agriculture, actually went down. It is only recently that these shares have finally moved upward again, but have not even gone back to where they were in 2001. But the damage had been done, and we see it in the human development and poverty statistics.
So again we ask: Is the average Filipino family better off now than in 2001?
Umangat ba ang pamumuhay ng nakararaming masang Pilipino mula nang umupo sa Malakanyang si Ginang Arroyo?
Sa nakikita at nararanasan ng karamihan sa atin, malinaw na ang sagot ay isang mariing HINDI!
Unhealthy, Unsafe & InsecureThe second simple question is: Is the average Filipino family now feeling more healthy, safe and secure than in 2001 in their homes, in their neighborhoods, and in their overall environment? Nararamdaman ba ng karaniwang Pilipino na sila ngayon ay mas malusog, ligtas at may seguridad sa kanilang tahanan, komunidad, at buong kapaligiran, kung ikukumpara sa kalagayan noong 2001?
Paano sila makapagsasabing mas malusog sila ngayon, kung ang presyo ng gamot, dala ng sabwatan ng mga makapangyarihan sa gobyerno at ng mga ganid na drug companies, ay di kayang abutin ng mga hirap nating kababayan, kung sino rin ang mas madaling lapatan ng sakit dahil sa kakulangan ng pagkain at karumihan ng kanilang kapaligiran? Ngayon na nga lamang, kung kailan naka-tiyempo sa SONA, biglang binigyang pansin ang bagay na ito ng Malakanyang. Kung puwede naman palang hatiin sa kalahati ang presyo ng mga mahahalagang gamot tulad ng ipinangangako sa atin ngayon, iisa lamang ang kahulugan nito: Matagal na pala tayong pinagsasamantalahan at nagpapayaman sa iilan, samantalang napakaraming Pilipino na ang naghirap at nangamatay dahil sa hindi makabili ng gamut para sa kanilang karamdaman.
Paano masasabi ng karaniwang Pilipino na sila’y mas ligtas ngayon, kung daan-daan nang kababayan natin ang walang tigil na dinudukot, binubugbog at pinapatay, kahit base sa hinala lamang? Kung patuloy ang paglaganap ng krimen sa ating paligid, kasama na ang bombahan, patayan, kidnapping, holdapan, nakawan at marami pang iba, na sa karamihan ay sumasawa na sa pagreport sa pulisya at maykapangyarihan sapagka’t wala rin naming kinahihinatnan? Paano nga ba kung ang kidnapping, bank robbery at pangingikil sa namngangalakal mismo ay tila ba’y itinuturing nang karaniwang negosyo, at minsa’y paraan pa upang maglikom ng salapi para sa kampanya ng mga pulitiko?
Paano sila makakasagot ng “Oo” sa ating tanong kung nauubos ang ating mga gubat at isda sa ating mga dagat, tumatabang ang ating mga lupa sa kabukiran, nauubos ang kayamanan ng ating biodiversity at iba pang likas-yaman, at patuloy na dumudumi ang ating kapaligiran, pag-usapan man ay hangin, katubigan o ang laganap na basurang di makolekta sa ating paligid?
Governance & InstitutionsDo Filipinos have greater trust and respect now than in 2001 for their government and its leaders, and their capability to help uplift their family’s well-being? Mas tiwala ba tayo ngayon sa ating pamahalaan at sa mga namumuno sa atin?
The result of countless surveys is clear: This government has had the lowest credibility and trust rating on record. The present Malacañang occupant is the least liked and most unpopular President this country has ever had.
And this surprises none of us, considering how Mrs. Arroyo has repeatedly misused and abused the powers of the presidency to gain an iron grip on power – so much so that she now enjoys far greater power within our government than even the popular US President Barack Obama enjoys within the government of the most powerful nation on earth.
It is under the present leadership that our country has attained the shameful distinction of being perceived in reputable international surveys as the most corrupt nation in Asia. Iniiwasan tayo ng mga dayuhang negosyante at dinadala ang kanilang mga investment sa mga bansang nakapaligid sa atin dahil sa talamak na korupsiyon sa ating gobyerno. Sinong negosyante nga ba ang maa-akit tumaya sa Pilipinas kung alam nilang wala pa ni isa sa malalaking corruption scandal na naibunyag sa administrasyong ito ang nalulutas – at lalong higit na wala pang naparurusahan? Nandiyan ang fertilizer scam ni Jocjoc Bolante, ang swine scam ng DA, ang NBN-ZTE at IMPSA scandals, at marami pang iba. Oo nga, may inusig at napakulong na dating Pangulo pero di pa nagtaggal sa pagapela sa Kataas-taasang Hukuman, ay pinatawad at pinalaya ng kasalukuyang Pangulo na tila sinasabing ‘kung sakali mang malasin ako, malitis at makulong ay kadyat ding palayain tulad ng ginawa ko sa dating Pangulo.
How can our people trust a government that keeps penalizing the obedient taxpayers with ever-increasing taxes whenever its funds are running low, while continuing to allow big tax evaders to have their way? Leading economists cite the shameful data that our tax-to-GDP ratio under Arroyo has either declined or stayed stagnant. This ratio is even lower now than it was when she took office in 2001! This, to me, is telling us two things: One, the government has continued to fail miserably in collecting taxes that can potentially be collected. Two, our taxpayers are deliberately and increasingly holding back their tax payments to a government that they utterly do not trust to use their hard earned tax money prudently and properly.
Then there is the issue of the ever growing and ballooning government indebtedness, foreign and local, the servicing or repayment of which has eaten up our annual budget to about 50%. Sa madaling sabi, dahil sa mga utang ng gobyerno, sa labas o loob ng bansa, halos higit sa 50% na nakukolekta ng gobyerno ay napupunta sa pagbabayad ng mga ito keysa sa pagtustos ng pangangailangan ng ating bansa laluna sa edukasyon, pangkalusugan at sa paggawa ng inpras-struktura at iba pa. Ang malala pa, ang inuutang natin na sabi ay upang matustusan ang mga pangangailangan ng ating bansa ay higit na nananakaw at napupunta sa mga bulsa ng mga corrupt sa pamahalaan.
Malacañang and its minions have constantly tested the limits of the law, repeatedly taking the shameless approach of violating the law first, and then waiting for the Supreme Court to stop it. Even as the highest court of the land has rebuked it several times by declaring its actions illegal and unconstitutional, this has not stopped the government from taking the same approach over and over. The railroading of the Con-Ass resolution is but the latest example of this approach of violating the law first, and wait for Supreme Court action. Governmental institutions tasked to safeguard and enhance our democracy and fight corruption are being ‘raped’ and made inutile either by servile appointments o pagtatalaga ng mga ‘tuta’ or sheer lack of support of the institution’s decisions (i.e., COMELEC’s Orders to arrest Bidal, etc.). How can Filipinos trust their leaders when they are the first to violate the laws of the land in plain sight for all to see?
Failing Our ChildrenDo Filipinos have better confidence in the future of their children now than in 2001? Mas higit ba ngayon ang kompiyansa natin sa kinabukasan ng ating mga anak kaysa noong 2001?
We often hear it said, and we like to say, that the children and the youth are our hope for a better tomorrow. If the bad habits and misguided ways of our present generation of leaders can no longer be changed in our lifetimes, then let the successor generation be our hope for changing the country.
But can we really rely on that hope if we are not even able to adequately care for and properly model our children? If we have permitted drop-out rates in our schools to rise, enrollment rates to fall, and malnutrition to increase, what hope can be expected? Can we expect the next generation to be better if the older generation is giving them such a bad example – by allowing them to grow up in a culture of violence, of loose morality, of dishonesty, and lack of respect for authority?
Paano tayo makaka-asa sa susunod nating henerasyon para sa pagbabago, kung hinahayaan nating lumaki sila na kapos sa edukasyon at sa kalusugan, at saksi sa laganap na karahasan, korupsiyon at kawalan ng moralidad? Paano natin masesegurong maliwanag ang kanilang kinabukasan kung pinababayaan nating mawaldas ang ating likas-yamang kagubatan, palaisdaan, mga minerals, at ang ating biodiversity na kinikilalang isa sa pinakamayaman sa buong daigdig?
For the sake of our country’s survival and future, and the welfare of our children and their children to come, we need to change our wicked and wasteful ways. And this change must begin in all of us, but especially in those entrusted to lead us by their examples.
Our Damaged PrideFinally, are we prouder of our country and of being a Filipino now than we were in 2001? Mas maipagmamalaki ba natin ngayon ang ating bansa at ang ating pagiging Pilipino, kaysa noong 2001?
Our pride in our own country should not merely come from the successes of a world champion boxer, nor internationally acclaimed entertainers but from our collective achievements and successes as a people. Ang karangalan nating mga Pilipino ay di lamang dapat manggaling sa tagumpay ng isang world champion na boksingero, o magagaling na mga mangaawit at entertainers, kung hindi sa sama-sama nating tagumpay bilang mga mamamayang Pilipino.
There is much, fortunately, that we can be proud of, with no thanks to our national leadership. We have shown that Filipinos are inherently a caring people. We see this with the millions of our overseas countrymen making a living out of loving, caring for and meeting the needs of others they serve in foreign lands. We see this in Filipinos here at home demonstrating caring and sharing in concrete ways as in initiatives like Gawad Kalinga, Operation Compassion, Habitat for Humanity, Purpose Driven Ministries and many others.
We have also constantly shown that Filipinos are a resilient and hardworking people. We do not only endure hardship and suffering, but even find grace and humor in them. Our workers are sought-after wherever they go, because others know the Filipino worker can be relied upon. And we have also constantly reaped admiration for being a God-fearing and God-loving people, and as the only Christian nation in our part of the world, we are increasingly assuming God’s anointed role of bringing his Word to the far corners of the earth. There is, indeed, so much we can be proud of.
But it is hard to be proud of our country when our very leaders manifest the worst of the Filipino and earn for us the image of a nation that is corrupt, impoverished and perennially dependent on and seeking favor with our former colonial masters. It is hard to be proud of our country when our own President is constantly traveling to foreign lands with dozens, sometimes hundreds of politicians clinging to her skirt, inviting questions about how the leaders of a small poor country such as ours can have the gall to spend taxpayers’ money so recklessly and extravagantly. And it is hard to be proud of our country when millions of our people, due to government neglect, have to be driven abroad to seek lowly jobs that many are overqualified for – even as we can be proud of the diligence and dignity that our OFWs bring into their work in foreign lands.
My fellow Filipinos:
In the end, the true state of our nation today is mirrored in the lives of the multitude of Filipinos all over our 7,100 islands.
Let us ask ourselves: Is the image we see in that mirror one of a better life than we had in 2001, when Gloria Macapagal Arroyo first ascended to the presidency?
If our answer is No, as I believe most of us would reply, then it is time that we take a more active role as Filipino citizens, and as children of God, in seizing our destinies and shaping our nation’s future according to what God has always had in store for us as His anointed people.
Sa pagtutulung-tulungan natin, pinatibay ng malalim na pananampalataya natin kay Hesus na ating Panginoon, ipagbunyi natin ang patuloy nating pananalig na Babangon ang Bagong Pilipinas!
“Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people.” – Proverbs 14:34
Bro. Eddie Villanueva, a sure candidate for president on 2010 Philippine National Elections, is a visionary leader. Bro. Eddie together with the Bagong Pilipinas, Bagong Pilipino Movement leaders are saying that hope is just around the corner as they presented to the media and the public the platform of government during the latter’s launching at the Araneta coliseum early this year attended by thousands of nation loving citizens of the country representing the different sectors of the society.
