What Filipinos need vs what gov’t thinks we need

For an administration whose measures to fight the pandemic are packaged as “heal as one,” you’d think the President would actually offer hope and inspire unity among Filipinos in his recent State of the Nation Address. Unsurprisingly, our ever-egotistic President chose to blast his critics, so-called oligarchs, and opposition lawmakers and deliberately refused to offer concrete solutions to fight the pandemic. It was all a performance, and a very bad one.

There is no “together” in Mr. Duterte’s administration. He and his cohorts have always stood for divisiveness, and after the pandemic has exposed them as criminally incompetent, they are even more eager to paint anyone who criticizes them as the enemy.

What we need right now is a concrete plan to keep people alive, not a proposal to revive the death penalty.

What we need right now is a solid approach to resuscitate the economy, not threats to shut down more companies like Globe and Smart that provide employment to thousands of Filipinos.

What we need right now is a Congress that is actually deserving of praise, not “hardworking” minions who are devoted to making the President happy.

What we need right now is a free media, so people can be more informed and more equipped to deal with the impact of the pandemic.

But since the administration has set the bar so low, what Filipinos need is just one good day when we can finally look at the news and say, hmmm, maybe the government has not forgotten about us!

Nicole Bacaron
nickiebacaron@gmail.com