Benefits? Poor Filipinos need them more than former presidents

Emilio Aguinaldo, Manuel L. Quezon, Jose Laurel, Sergio Osmeña, Manuel Roxas, Elpidio Quirino, Ramon Magsaysay, Carlos P. Garcia, Diosdado Macapagal, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., Corazon Aquino, Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Benigno Aquino III, and Rodrigo Duterte never lived a pauper’s life riddled with miseries and impoverishment after their term. Unlike the poor peasants and workers who are bent over for decades in their work and who are enduring pain and hardship due to poverty and neglect.

Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, former Philippine National Police chief who enabled Duterte to implement the war on drugs that killed thousands, together with his fellow senators Mark Villar, Christopher Lawrence “Bong” T. Go, and Francis Tolentino introduced Senate Bill No. 1784 proposing additional benefits and privileges to former presidents. The bill is not only untimely but self-serving; it is not beneficial to the Filipino people, especially the downtrodden.

This bill manifests how the ruling elite and especially the ruling clique in the chamber of lawmakers prioritize what would benefit their pack.

The president and other elected officials are public servants that are supposedly thinking and implementing rules that would alleviate the sufferings of their constituents. All the presidents must have not seen too much poverty, inequality, social unrest, and dissatisfaction because the basic social services have not been rendered to the ordinary people.

All the presidents did not push for the demand of a living wage. Instead, they settled for laws that allow minimum wage that in actuality could not cope with inflation and social needs of families such as housing, education, clothing, and basic health services. Ibon Foundation has documented the nominal minimum wage and these are the wages under their term: Corazon Aquino (P118), Ramos (P198), Estrada (P250), Arroyo (P382), Benigno Aquino III (P491), and Duterte (P537). Minimum wage through the years has never reached the living wage needed by families. Today, the minimum wage is at P570, while a family of five needs P1,087.

No living former presidents had eased the burden of the workers, even if it was just ending contract labor. The people are robbed of job security and long-term benefits toward their retirement through this arrangement.

When Marcos Sr. was toppled, no president ever touched nor worked to reverse or review Presidential Decree No. 1177, which is popularly known as the automatic appropriations law for debt servicing. PD 1177 remains untouched and unchallenged until today, which is why there is a bigger appropriation of the national budget that goes to debt payments. The 2023 national budget has allotted debt servicing amounting to P1.6 trillion, the highest yearly servicing on record. According to economist Sonny Africa, the payment is equivalent to 44 centavos out of every peso revenue.

The additional and extended benefits to past presidents would be unfair to the people who have been taxed heavily despite low salaries and robbed of benefits because the past presidents did not alleviate the sufferings of the people by prioritizing the debt payments and not the economic and social upliftment of the people.

Now that they are retired and are still living, the additional budget for the implementation of the law will be an additional burden for the ordinary ones.

So far, the living past presidents are enjoying their lives. They would never have to raise funds or solicit if they get sick and would be needing medical intervention. They would never beg for food or housing, nor queue at lotto outlets to take their chances on a possible fortune. They would never commute and wait long hours for bus rides. They have enough, or perhaps more than enough.

If during their term, they were able to genuinely serve the interest of the people, there would be lesser poverty and more people would be willing to return the favor to past presidents. After all, years of administering the country must have taught them how to organize their daily lives, including some official responsibilities they have to respond to.

It is the poor people who need additional benefits, not former presidents.

Norma P. Dollaga,Kapatirang Simbahan

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