Make or break

There are so many issues that President Aquino will need to tackle this year, but he will have to very carefully choose his battles or, more broadly, his battlefields. Among domestic concerns, there are five arenas that will be particularly crucial this year in terms of their long-term impact and how they might make, or break, the presidency.

Justice

First and foremost is the arena of justice and human rights. News reports refer mainly to the impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice Renato Corona but, really, we are talking here about the larger battle of tackling a Judiciary perceived to have become unjust, if not oppressive.

Much has been said about preserving the system of checks and balances between the Executive and the Judiciary, but too little is said about how the previous president, with a long-term vision for her own survival, destroyed the system of checks and balances by appointing her lackeys to the Supreme Court.

At issue here is not the Chief Justice, or even Gloria Arroyo, but  a presidency in danger of becoming a lame-duck administration as the country’s biggest criminals—murderers and plunderers—are allowed to roam free with impunity because the country’s highest court chooses to be blindfolded, nay, blinded.

Filipinos were charmed by the “no wang wang” policy and impressed by how it has held up. But the bar was raised by last year’s events around Arroyo. People are now asking, what is there to prevent the Supreme Court from coddling the likes of Palparan, Ampatuan and Abalos when—and this is most likely to happen—their cases are brought to their bench.

I initially anticipated an outpouring of sympathy for Arroyo but that has not happened. What did surprise me was the intensity of reactions against Palparan. People in the streets use the word “berdugo” (butcher) to refer to him, sometimes even bristling with anger. I find these strong emotions crossing political lines, meaning it isn’t just “leftists” speaking out against him but generally apolitical people who are thinking, rightly, that if he could get away with what he did, everyone becomes a potential victim of disappearances and summary executions.

The current Supreme Court is increasingly seen as a coddler of rich and powerful criminals and of fostering impunity. The President, as well as our incumbent justices, will have to answer to history as it unfolds today and, many years from now, as events are reviewed.

Environment

A second crucial arena for the President will be the environment. The flavors of the month these days with government and international aid agencies are “climate change” and “disaster preparedness,” especially for the Philippines.  But disaster preparedness can work only if it is part of a broader plan of environmental protection. The logs that rumbled into villages together with the floodwaters from Tropical Storm “Sendong” were only the latest reminders that there is no such thing as a totally “natural” disaster. Neither should we forget that climate change is a human-induced, rather than a natural, phenomenon.

Government needs to come up with a comprehensive master policy on the environment that will guide other policies on a broad range of issues—from traffic management to the building of new condominiums. This can be the year when government bites the bullet and implements vital environmental laws passed years ago, the one on garbage segregation being an example. With “Ondoy” and “Sendong” still on people’s minds, this is a good time to educate people on the connection between environmental laws and disaster prevention.

K-to-12 education

A third arena to test presidential mettle is education. A new K-to-12 system that adds two years to the elementary and secondary education is now a done deal. The Department of Education wants to begin the new 12-year program in June, and many educators are understandably nervous. An expanded curriculum isn’t in place yet, much less the training of teachers to handle the new load. Mandatory kindergarten in public schools was supposed to have started last June but ended up being implemented only in some schools, with as many tears shed by teachers as by the children.

The President and people in the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education need to explain to the public what this proposed new system is, as well as its implications for the entire educational system.

For the country’s low-income households, the additional two years of schooling, even in subsidized public institutions, will mean more expenses and perhaps more dropouts. But there’s more at stake here besides household budgets.  Those of us who teach in state universities and colleges have been told repeatedly to tighten our belts and make do with smaller budgets so that more money can be poured into this expanded basic education. I’d like to see that money spent well, so when students graduate from this supposedly new and improved system, they’ll be better equipped to handle college, careers, and life.

Health and peace

A fourth make-or-break arena for the President is health.  Newer “lifestyle” health problems such as cardiovascular diseases are overwhelming us even as we deal with older infectious diseases. Then there’s the area of reproductive health, with a bill that has been pending in Congress for a decade now. For as long as it is un-passed, many Filipinos will be deprived of vital services. The RH bill epitomizes the “make or break” theme I’m trying to make. . . there’s just been too much stalling here.

But I’m even more concerned about the need for universal health coverage through Philhealth insurance.  Government is increasing annual premiums for overseas Filipino workers from P900 to P1,200 starting this year, and to P2,400 in July—and this has already drawn strong protests.

Government needs to do more to convince people about Philhealth’s benefits. My college at UP recently organized a seminar for our faculty and staff where Philhealth representatives talked about what they were entitled to, and many of the participants were pleasantly surprised at the range of benefits.

The Department of Health needs to do more as well to let people know what they can get from the public health system. My mother’s caregiver recently told me about how she spent only P3,000 for her mother’s hospitalization, following a stroke, in Pasig’s city hospital, and how impressed she was with the competence of the physicians and staff.

Finally, there’s the arena of peace, and I’m not just referring to the negotiations with various insurgent groups but with the way all the other social justice issues converge. I will never forget how, many years ago, I talked with some young New People’s Army cadres and asked why they took to the hills. Their answers always centered on not being able to go to school. . . and on relatives dying without ever getting to a rural health unit or a health professional, or not being able to buy medicines.

We are the only country left in Southeast Asia with several active rebel movements, which shouldn’t be surprising given the way we’ve neglected those issues of justice and equity.  Make or break, 2012 is the year to make a difference.