When Senator Benigno Aquino III was campaigning for president in 2010, voters welcomed and embraced his slogan of “kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” on the “Daang Matuwid,” in full expectation that, at last, the country would be freed from the bondage of corruption and poverty. At the time, with Gloria Arroyo sitting as president, corruption and poverty were rioting in government and all over the country.
But, alas, the Aquino administration has fallen short of the people’s expectations. It’s true that several cases of big-time corruption have been uncovered and are being investigated, but most of them came to light only because of whistle-blowers; even then, these cases are taking a long while to be filed, or prosecuted. While it is true that the economy has grown, this is not felt by many, much less by the poor. Why?
The government is too slow in implementing projects or in addressing urgent and pressing problems. Hence, the twin dragons of corruption and poverty go romping around unchecked. The knight in shining armor appears to have failed to slay the dragons.
And the knight doesn’t seem to be interested in the enactment of a freedom of information (FOI) law, the sword that could slay the dragon of corruption. The Senate approved last March 10 its version of the FOI bill. But the House of Representatives is pussyfooting in consolidating its 24 versions of the FOI bill. And reports are all over that President Aquino is not going to certify the passage of the bill as an urgent legislative measure. Has the President forgotten his election promise?
Meanwhile, long after the Zamboanga siege of 2013, evacuees are still staying in tents. Their young children are dying from various diseases. And the bunkhouses built for them are located too far from their source of livelihood. They would have better chances of survival and a clearer shot at a decent life if government would create jobs for them.
The situation of the evacuees in Zamboanga City is no different from the situation of the survivors of calamities, particularly those of Supertyphoon “Yolanda.” Dead bodies are still being found in Tacloban. And no one is monitoring donations.
Sen. Sergio Osmeña III is right. Because of P-Noy’s “teka, teka, puro teka, teka” tendency, shortages in electricity supply, among other problems, remain unsolved. One might say in jest that a lunar eclipse is now a nightly phenomenon in Mindanao.
On the other hand, we find our country in a serious “moral eclipse”—referring to the moral decadence in our society, to borrow the words of former Chief Justice Reynato Puno.
The Aquino administration needs to do its homework double time. While far from being idle, the President has to be more dynamic. More prayers still needed, of course. At the very least, it could be one way every Filipino could help carry the national burden.
—ARMANDO LIBRANDO ALPAY
c/o judithalpay@yahoo.com