The Country and I

The Country we love

Here we are, a new Philippines. Many days after the inauguration of P-Noy. I would start by boldly declaring that P-Noy has done a great job. Sticking true to his campaign is a fresh start to a budding administration.

The media and P-Noy

Transparency is key to a successful government, media, and citizen relationship. What did P-Noy do? Well, he formed a communications group that would answer most, if not all, of the things that the administration deal with. As stressed in my journalism class, information is the highway of democracy. It is even the oxygen of democracy. Without it, a democracy perishes. P-Noy has started out well. In stark contrast, President GMA is closed to the media. Basically, she does not understand that the media's role is to inform people of certain things. To take on both sides, however, Philippine media is unstable. One day it is very good, another day it is sensationalized. It's hard to balance things here. I don't know why, but it might be due to the readership they are trying to gain. As in television, profit is important that sometimes it gets in the way of professionalism. With that being said, I admire P-Noy for having an administration that is open to the media amidst its shortcomings. Again, information is crucial to the survival of a democracy. I am glad that we finally have a president who believes in that.

P-Noy's first few days as CEO of the Philippines

I have been following closely (mostly through the Philippine Daily Inquirer) P-Noy's first few days as President. Starting with the strict implementation of the "no WANG-WANG" policy, the Aquino administration is off to a good start! The only downside to it is that since P-Noy vows to follow the law, the traffic in Araneta corner Quezon Ave. has been altered. The route where P-Noy is passing through now has a left turn stop light! Pretty clever! Working within the framework of the rules. Too bad for the lane heading to Fairview though, it has to wait a few more minutes for the green light to shine. There were immediate bumps to the "matuwid na daan" that P-Noy hoped for, and P-Noy soon realized that the mountain he is climbing is way steeper than what he had first calculated. First he had to face a daunting task of managing the budget deficit. Apparently, the previous administration decided to just use up almost all of the budget. The calamity funds has almost been depleted as well. How about the MWSS bonuses? Christmas bonus, Christmas package, 13th month pay, pa-bahay, pa-kotse, etc. Incredible! I had to quote someone saying that they only stopped handing out bonuses because they have no more names to call the bonuses! All these and more are stated in his SONA. While many claim that his SONA is lacking, I believe it was a good start. He, after all, highlighted the things he wants to prioritize. Now, indeed, the Filipinos can dream again. The extra judicial killings started again under a young Aquino administration. Sad as it may seem, the killings seem to be an insult and slap to the face of P-Noy. We just hope that he has a solution to all these. What about the typhoon that killed many? The water crisis? The dams that won't fill even under heavy rainfall? The CARP and Hacienda Luisita problems also surfaced once again. As we all know, P-Noy's family is a majority owner of Hacienda Luisita. It is for this reason that we are very interested in what he will be doing. The developments seem to be good, though it is hard to say because even though a compromise was claimed by Hacienda Luisita, the farmers claimed otherwise (such confusion is a headache). The PAL problem is also another headache. I would say that though these PAL staffs had problems with the PAL management, they still have to respect the terms of their contract and the government condition. Boycotting the airline by resigning immediately instead of the SOP of informing the airline 6 months in advanced is a bad practice. It leaves a bad reputation to the Philippines however you want to see it. The ombudsman is also a headache. Suddenly springing to action on the fertilizer fund scam after a long state of dormancy, the ombudsman has been subject to impeachment. Lastly, all the government officials who earn more than the President? The figures go as high as 20 something million Pesos.

How I feel?

It pains me to see that while we make it look as if we are not a rich country, we have government officials here and there doing things to profit themselves, thus leaving the poor people to suffer. WE ARE A RICH COUNTRY! Our natural resources, our beaches, our environment are all world class! We have a lot of money as well, if you really think about it. It just goes to all the wrong places. Sad. :(

Conclusion

P-Noy has been in office for only a short time. Rallying everywhere about his "shortcomings" is NOT a help to the country. If we really want to help, we will not be rallying but be active in forming groups to help the new government do its thing. After all, what can a plumber fix in a few days when the whole country pipe system is damaged? Can you tell me? Would criticizing the plumber speed up the patching process? NO! It is then up to the citizens to help patch up the massive damage to the country pipes. By doing so, we would have been able to stop the Philippines from sinking down below the ocean. We have a choice. Use it to HELP this beloved country! :)