President Aquino wants to be a reformist president, and he’s doing a good job at reforming society. His “daang matuwid” resonates with the people, and is something they want: a clean, honest government that cares. But they also want a decent life, and that he hasn’t yet provided.
I was going to continue with my column of last week, but I will have to defer it. Several of my friends implored me to write on the elections because they were worried. In a conversation we had as to who they’d vote for for the Senate, they had great difficulty naming 12. Once they [...]
The trouble I find in writing a column is that I tend to repeat myself—because the things I complain about are still there, or worse (in my biased view), are still there after I’ve offered a solution.
I went to a refreshing meeting the other day. Officers of the Management Association of the Philippines met with Public Works Secretary Rogelio “Babes” Singson.
It’s more fun in the Philippines. Well, it is if you can get there and have a place to stay. The facilities for both are in a bit of short supply right now.
He may have wrecked a chair, but Billy Esposo exposed those who were wrecking this society. His hard-hitting but balanced columns were a must-read for anyone who cares for this country. Estee’s and my sympathies go out to Meyang, who looked after him so well as he battled the failure of his kidneys. His book, “Surviving Chronic Kidney Disease: The Billy Esposo Kidney Diaries,” is an enlightening account of his travails, his fortitude and courage. An illuminating and comforting book for those who similarly suffer. An engrossing read in its own right for those who don’t.
I, quite simply, fail to understand the Philippine Catholic Church. It vehemently opposes the Reproductive Health Law. Fine, it has every right to. But what it doesn’t have a right to is to dictate its belief to others. The law will give Filipinos of all faiths, or none, the option to request family planning assistance, or not.
Some of my friends disagreed with my last column. Not on leadership, no argument there, but on creating a Department of ICT (Information Communications Technology). And not, I’m glad to say, for the non sequitur reason that there are already too many departments. There are, but that isn’t, or shouldn’t be, the issue. If there are too many, is a DICT the least necessary? As I argued in my last column, decidedly NO. There are departments of far less use that can go.
I talked about the importance of leadership recently (Inquirer, 2/28/13) and how it determines the path of a country using the two Koreas as a dramatic example. Leadership is particularly important in a hierarchical society like the Philippines. On the larger scale, it can determine where a country goes, but it can also affect what happens in a particular sector, or a specific issue. And it can affect not only that sector or issue but a wider sphere through indirect impact.
Politicians are going to make all sorts of promises over the next two months. In the main these will be what they think the voters want to hear—and, in the main, generalities with little sound basis for accomplishment. Let me give you a few ideas on what I’d like them to promise instead.
I’m going to continue on the campaign trail because now is a good time to push reform, and we sure need reform. Here’s why: Over the past 40 years I’ve watched the Philippines sink from the top (the second best to Japan) to near the bottom in Asia. People talk about it, but no one seems to really care enough to reverse this sad decline. The one factor I know is not the cause is the people, who have more than proved their abilities.
Let me take last week’s column a bit further. We have a President who is changing society, or trying to. Political games he plays (successfully, I might add), but a trapo he is not. His “daang matuwid” has resonated in the public arena, and his honest lifestyle is setting an example for many to follow. Attacking corruption at the top is working, but it now has to be expanded. We all know who the corrupt are, so the President now has to widen his net and take them down, too.
