By Reni M. Valenzuela
Ang totoong problema natin na siyang ugat kung bakit tayo sa kalakhang Maynila ay palagi na lang nalulubog sa baha — ay korupsyon.
Bakit nga naman nila lulutasin ang baha kung ito ay mangangahulugan ng paghinto o pagkawala ng kanilang daan daang bilyong piso na budget taon taon — upang kulimbatin? Ganyan din po ang kalunos lunos na kalagayan ng ating walang hanggang problema sa “local communist” insurgency, at iba pa.
Hindi ninyo ba nakikita yan, mga kababayan?
It is in what the President missed to say and show in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) that the address or speech can be judged for its totality and truthfulness — either merely as a “good oration” to court man’s applause or as indeed the reality — whole, deep, solid and factual to awaken and bolster the government and Filipinos from slumber — jolted from hypnotic politics and electioneering numbness in order to propel the country to move forward (not backward).
What about the many others, Mr. President, that you left out mentioning and/or emphasizing in your SONA?
E.g., massive corruption, smuggling, cartels, loony Cha cha, bloated national budget, intel, confidential and pork barrel funds, equitable distribution (or “stealing”) of the nation’s wealth, taming of greed among big businesses, decent living wage for the working class, the production of our own products and their promotion locally and internationally, support to farmers and agriculture sector, love and honor for our heroic teachers, the botched “modernization,” the red tagging and “anti-terror” law, police and military abuses, human rights violations, human trafficking, cyber crimes, online scamming, child sex trade, politicized secretary or judiciary, and climate change, to name a few.
Having failed to address these issues/malaise — every single one of them, in its own peculiar, pernicious, disastrous way — must have caused the problems of inflation, privation, rebellion, criminality, inequity, poverty, economic doldrum, education and health woes, flooding, and the prevailing pauperism of our people in general — mentally, morally and spiritually, notably during elections, alas!
“For I, the Lord, love justice, I hate robbery…” – Isaiah 61:8
By the way, it is great that the Senate has suspended the PUV “modernization” program. There is nothing modern about it (after all), except their way to further destroy the poor and our cherished Filipino culture, and to enrich (further) crooked pockets.
More than suspending it, stop it — or heed the clamor to make it sane, nationalistic and acceptable. Overhaul is the word from top to bottom. Never mind the protestation of DOTR and LTFRB, with their cohort “associations.” Let them solve their self-inflicted problems. Dumb.
Behold, the rich are getting richer, while the poor are getting poorer — forever and ever, and ever. Hindi totoong tamad ang mga Pilipino gaya ng sabi ng mga Instik. Ganid lang ang marami sa kanilang mga nakalulklok, at sa mga dumayo sa ating bansa.
It is not true that Filipinos are lazy as the Chinese in the country would always paint us to be. Many of them (unpatriotic and soulless Filipinos) in the halls of power are just greedy, as greedy as the many of those who migrated to and settled in our country and exploited our people, and corrupted our officials/government.
And now they sleep soundly and luxuriously with their stomachs full and happy, while majority of our own people die of hunger and sickness, loneliness and despondency.
Tugisin ang mga buwaya o kurakot at sanggano ng gobyerno — sa nakaraan at kasalukuyan, kasama ang lahat nilang alipores sa pribadong sektor.
Email: renivalenzuelaletters@yahoo.com
(To be continued)
