A desperate question

“General, what is happening to our country?”

Emmanuel Neri Pelaez was a noted Filipino politician and statesman (yes, there were statesmen among congressmen and senators at that time) who served as the Vice-Presidency of the Philippines after being a congressman and senator for 22 years prior to that. In July of 1982, Pelaez was badly wounded in an assassination attempt.

After he was wheeled out of the operating room, he saw Gen. Tomas Karingal who was then the Chief of the Quezon City Police Department and asked him that now famous question. Somehow, that incident has long been forgotten (or never heard of by Filipinos 40 years old and below) but the question remains alive.

Today, it is not uncommon for baby boomers to mouth the same question when they are expressing utter frustration about the situation of the country. When we feel a sense of helplessness at things around us, we tend to ask the same question, “What is happening to our country?”

Everything is not rosy, for sure, but everything is not bad, either.  It just so happens that what is truly rosy belongs only to a small minority, while what is bad affects the great majority. This is not rare, but this is painful. The fact that many other nations may have their ordinary and poor citizens suffer the same things is not justification for our majority to be where they are. Especially when the numbers elsewhere in our own region, both Asia and ASEAN, show we are worse than almost all neighbors.

It is rubbing salt to our open wounds when we remember where we were compared to our neighbors. From somewhere in the top to somewhere in the bottom is an indictment to governments that have ruled from the 60s to today. The worst, of course, was the bankruptcy that Marcos, Sr. had cursed the Philippines with before he was removed.

Countries do not recover from bankruptcies right away. It can take decades, and we have witnessed many European countries experience the same tragedy. In 2008, a debt crisis hit Iceland, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain. The same countries have not fully recovered from that crisis and remain financially vulnerable – 16 years later.

I hope that Filipinos will not forget that bad and corrupt governance that led to ballooning government debt caused our financial collapse. Well, from a running total of 6 trillion pesos after the PNoy administration, the debt of the government now stands at more than 15 trillion pesos in just 8 years, 2.5 times from what was generated from 1986 to mid 2016 or 30 years.

But I must mention here that our credit rating recently improved despite a ballooning government debt. It must be that the promise of future revenue is stronger than its debt-to-GDP ratio. Simply put, those who control the money of the world must believe that more revenue can be generated by the Philippines despite its debts. I sincerely hope so.

At the same time, all the debts and assets of the country seem too large for most Filipinos to comprehend. We should understand these things, but we do not – that is the sad reality and the kind of situation that exploiters among our political and business leaders will not try to change.

In other words, if we want a better tomorrow for our children and grandchildren, we should prepare the way for them by correcting past mistakes, build new capacities, increase production of goods and services, and raise the quality of what we do. And the worst thing of all that will guarantee a more bitter future is to be dependent on ayuda, the worst thing of all.

I cannot blame the poor and helpless if they seek help; they, too, deserve to eat and live long. Maybe, they deserve it more than the rest of us because they have suffered the most and the longest. I do not expect nor want the government, national and local, to stop subsidizing the hungry and the sick. But I do wish that the most dependent Filipinos will be guided towards enabling their capacity to fend for themselves as a matter of policy – simultaneous with ayuda.

What is happening to our country is nothing but more of the same, which means economic growth is limited to those who least need it, while economic scarcity is generously allocated to the majority. Is it impossible for our leaders in government and business to design a viable pathway out of poverty and mediocrity? Can we not be given an inspiring vision of being dignified and productive Filipinos, for whom our ancestors worked and fought?

Again, I will pose the question: “What is happening to our country?” but I will direct it not to a general or a politician. Instead, let me ask our younger generations—not that they know better, but because they know and have less of the ills and mistakes that have become part of our culture today. I want to tell the Filipino youth, the vast majority of whom are below 55 years old, that this question can only be answered by them. What will happen to our country will ultimately depend on what the younger generations of Filipinos choose to build.

It may be time to let the wisdom of the aging generation take a backseat and allow the youth of our land to take center stage—because there has been little wisdom and too much stubbornness in the older generation. The mess we are asking about is what we have made.

I do not believe anymore in the promises of our leaders in politics and business; I believe only in the promise of the youth. I believe in their idealism, dynamism, and desire for change. After all, is there anyone else who can do it besides them?