Well, I keep on wondering about one thing
for quite some time already, and when I said
‘sometime’ I mean YEARS, and just tonight it reminded me again of the
horror that I have been experiencing in the last couple of years…
This certain reminder started when I was at
the gym and doing my usual evening workout. I spent lesser time cycling tonight
as I arrived late and the gym closes at 8PM, although not very strictly. I
always get to meet the same guys every night and we are always the ones who are
the ‘closer’ of the gym. But what I am trying to say is that, I spent my whole
cycling time thinking about what is going on with me and with the things,
people and places surrounding me. Then I came to realize this will be the very
first time that
I am going to exercise suffrage, or the right to vote, and I
guess this is just a normal feeling since everybody else in the country is
talking about politics.
I am already 24 this year and two national
elections have come and go and I have no chance to exercise what they call as a
social responsibility. The first one took place when I just turned 18, that was
way back in 2007, where I am not yet a registered voter due to the fact that I
studied hundreds of miles away from my hometown and never had the chance or the
willingness to be registered. The next national elections, three years after,
took place where I happened to be still at Singapore having my international
practicum. And yes, I was still not registered during that time. It did not
bother me much since I am not really a big fan of politics nor care much about
government and good governance. I have been very passive in the last couple of
years and now I am rekindling the fear and horror that I have been keeping.
I wrote this just to ease the fear that I
have deep in my heart and to at least take this out of my mind and chest so
that I would be able to continue with my life. I have nothing against somebody
and I am just a very normal person, very normal in fact. But I guess, apart
from the right to suffrage that was granted unto me (or given, provisioned or
whatever, you know what I mean), I was also given the right to exercise my
freedom of expression and of expressing my opinion, like anybody else in this
DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY, as they always say.
But let me just be clear that as I type
this words, my heart is pumping faster than it normally does, maybe because of
the excitement of having this expressed, or the anxiety of having these
thoughts delivered not so well, or the fear that this might invite cyberbullies
and the likes, and even worse than that (God I hope not!). Like I said, I am
just a very normal person, not intellectually gifted, not socially active, not
knowledgeable enough regarding laws, jurisdictions, sovereignty and the likes.
But I’m writing this in behalf of myself and myself alone. I know that later on
you would have a lot of arguments to express, and I would understand that, but
let alone the idea of expression be just enough to at least save me from all
your “bullies”.
Here comes my thing…
I have been observing a lot of things since
my childhood up to my current stage. And they way I assess things, I came up
with a one big realization that I would continue to bring until my last breath.
I AM LOSING HOPE FOR MY COUNTRY… Big words… Really big words… Both literally
and figuratively…
Just so you know, it stirs a lot of
discussion and a lot of time-wasting for me to come up with this, apart from
the social observations and opinions coming from people I have shared this
with.
When I went to Singapore for a year-long
internship, I was able to observe how beautiful the place is and how the
government worked hard in bringing the small island-country to where it is
right now. Singapore is small yet very powerful and rich. Hundreds of thousands
of Filipinos are living in this country, along with more than a hundred of
other nationalities who have called Singapore their home. I understand that it
is not economically, financially, culturally (and more) balanced to compare Singapore
with the Philippines. They always say that Singapore is just a small place and
the Philippines is very big with lots of cultures and traditions and indigenous
peoples. But let me remind you (and myself) that Singapore is mainly composed
of three races: Chinese, Malay and Indian. These races have been subdivided as
well into different groups. But they were able to live harmoniously in
Singapore. I am sure there are other places in the world that has a larger
territory than the Philippines and with a higher number of cultural groups, yet
they were able to manage a good living and a remarkable economic status. I don’t
have to mention these places but I just want to point out that the size and the
culture, I think, doesn’t play very good roles when it comes to development.
(or the other way around!) But more importantly, iron-hand rules have played a vital role in bring Singapore to stability.
Now, to continue with the expression of
this very nonsense point, I am going to share another observation that I
experienced when I stayed in The Netherlands for 3 months. Amsterdam, the
capital, is likely known to be the Sin Capital of the World: legal marijuana
(Soft Version) and Prostitution. I had a couple of walks around main roads,
avenues and alleys in downtown Amsterdam and I got used to smell marijuana in a
couple of corners, most especially in the red light district. I don’t have to
explain the marijuana thing that much (because I don’t have much knowledge
also! Lol) but what I am sure is that even if these vices are rampant, the
crime rate in this country is still well-controlled. That was amazing, for me.
What I am trying to say is that I think one of the factors why you live in a
place is the ability of the police authority to ensure the the safety and
security of its constituents, which is sadly not convincing in the case of the
Philippines. You visit Singapore, you will see a lot of very young, petite and
short (not tall) policemen wearing their uniform with much pride, same as that
of Europe (I have seen a lot of very not-so-strong-looking policemen in:
Alicante, Spain; Cologne and Dusseldorf, Germany; Paris, France). But you know
what makes these places interesting and safe? These policemen, no matter how big or small, they are RESPECTED, FOLLOWED, FEARED. What I mean is that the
constituents, no matter how strong they can be, still follow the commands of
the authority. This is one of the things that the Philippines fell short. I
know this is not happening in all parts of the country and I am sure that there
are also not-so-good parts in those countries I compared the Philippines with.
But what I am sure is that the Philippines needs an IRON HAND, somebody who can
fully implement and execute laws fairly and equally, without giving special treatment to the rich,
the influential, the powerful.
I can still remember stories being shown in
the Philippine TV about influential people who are being charged with various
crimes and they even become instant personalities, being discussed as
headliners not just for a day, but for weeks and even months. When these people
were found guilty as charged, they were sent to prison. But after the
imprisonment, would you hear a lot of things about them? No. Are you aware of
their situation in prison? No. But the most likely scenario to happen is that
these influential people will be sent to prison, in a VVVVIP room with all the
things they need, like they are just living at their houses. Some, if not all,
of them are even able to get out of the jail anytime they want to because the
press is no longer watching them and the governing bodies are very much
influenced by them. Pity!
And talking about the press, another thing
that I don’t like about the Philippines is the influence of media. I don’t like
it because most of the stories being shown in the media are highly influenced,
if not paid, by highly influential people of course. Let’s take for example in local
news, they showed a scoop of a certain senator-aspirant who just got
back into campaign after being hospitalized due to heat stroke, or something
related to that. My point is that why do they have to feature that guy, among the
hundreds of senatorial candidates, why that guy alone? WHY??? INFLUENCE, or they are
paid, for sure! So, you better be careful with what you are watching because
the media is feeding a lot of terrible poison!
Let me just remind myself again, not you,
that I am just a very normal person. I am not intelligent, I don't have perfect grammar and I don’t even watch the news everyday,
but these are my own opinions and observations. Now, going back to the police
issue, most of the Policemen here in the Philippines are highly influenced by
their respective mayors, governors, congressmen and all those in the higher
government offices. You are less likely to see a policeman filing a case
against a mayor, or a congressmen, all for a simple slapping complaint being
done. Of course, what normally happens is that the mayor (or the accused) will
be using their power and influence to ensure that the case won’t push through,
either by hook or by crook. Yes, they would always say that justice will
prevail, but there will always be fear in the mind and heart of everybody like
me, those who are members of the general public, the mediocre, the fooled. Come
on, stop pretending like your Governors, Mayors, Congressmen, have played a
good game in the span of their administrations. They always make use of their
power. This is scenario that suits the Tourism Slogan:
It’s more fun in the Philippines.
It’s more fun in the Philippines.
In other countries, if a Senator was
charged guilty, he will be treated as the other convicted felons are. They will be
treated like normal once they reach the prison, their societal value will fall
to negative level. But here in the Philippines, we vote for convicted criminals
and you know what is so funny about it? These criminals are being convicted
because the justice being served to them are also maneuvered by the rich, the
influential, the POWERFUL. So funny that even the highest body of justice
servants are also highly influenced. Pity again!
I am not trying to belittle the Filipinos,
or the capacity of the Filipinos to build a better country for us, for I am a
Filipino myself and I am very proud being one. But I am stating a major fact
that has always been being concealed by people in front of the people. What is
happening has been a culture and it would take decades, if not centuries, for
this to be changed or diverted in the better way. But I do appreciate all the
efforts being done by the activists, those who are searching for clean and good
governance and I would definitely encourage them to continue that. I am not
saying I am fully aware of what is happening in the government, the crimes, the
laws and all that, and I clearly stated earlier that I am just a normal person
and represented my own opinion about this. But I read a lot of stories about the
Philippines now and then, about the culture, the traditional politicians, the
fooled Filipinos. In fact, I have read stories about the Marcoses, about how
the Philippines perform during their regime, about the Aquinos and how they work
hard for democracy to arise. I am not completely aware of what is behind these
stories and who are behind them. But what I got from these stories is that in
the span of years, not much progress has been made by traditional politicians,
most especially those political dynasties, when it comes to uplifting the quality of life of their constituents.
I think the Filipinos does not need a
Filipino to govern us, because a Filipino has a soft heart, subjective and
greedy (I am not saying all, but I am sure most!). Because you know what is
happening right now, let’s say the president is going to visit a certain place
to ensure that the people are living well and being served well by the
government. But the hosts will be informed properly regarding the visit so that
they can get a chance to prepare beautiful stories and progress about their
respective places, and they also get a chance to hide all their anomalies,
lies, corrupt actions and the likes. And once the president leaves, everybody
is back to normal. So funny yet true, and this is very FILIPINO. It’s more fun
in the Philippines, yes!
I THINK
if there is somebody else somewhere, who can govern us with IRON HANDS, the society
would be more controllable, safe and secure. That if the same Martial Law would
take place, the society would be better. That if the Armed Forces would have
more influence over security and safety than the Mayors, Governors and all
those elected officials, justice would be served well. And reminding myself
about this horrifies me, for I know that if I am aggravated, denied of human
rights, victimized by these influential people (God, I hope not!), I know that
I would never have the chance to be served with justice, just like everybody
else. Too sad… and let me add, too horrifying… And how many have tried to set
up a fight with these influential people? Hundreds and thousands. How many
died? A LOT! Killing has been very rampant everywhere in the country, even in
the capital. And to some places, the people has been already immune to it. Scary... Yes, scary...
To sum it all up, yes I have lost the hope
for the Filipinos so I have decided not to vote. I know and I understand that I
am not exercising my right, that I am unbecoming a Filipino and all that. But
respect me, for I have better plans for myself than just wait for those people
who are in the position to make this living better for me. I don’t want to
waste my time searching for the truth, for revealing the corrupt and all those
advocacies (although again, I do encourage and support them). For I know that
in the Filipino culture, those advocacies will only be swallowed by the mouth
of the rich, the wealthy, the influential. I know there are good news about our
country but I am sure that we are not
going up in the ladder of success and stability if we are to keep the same
rules the governs us, as well as the same people. The government better prove
me wrong! And apart from that, I have a lot of problems to deal with, so why
bother spending time thinking about who to vote and all that. No, I already
lost the hope and sorry if I am an addition to the people who brings the
government down.
I am sorry, if I offended a lot of people.
I honestly don’t mean it, I am just expressing and explaining things the most
rational way that I can. Please don’t take it personally. And my advice to the
general public, don’t relay too much on the government and, as what my boss would always tell me, DON'T BLAME THE GOVERNMENT about your situation. Work hard, in fact HARDER, for yourself
and make sure that you are progressive, so that wherever you will go, you would
become successful and you would be able to have a chance to live in a place
where you can call home, a place where you can be very proud, happy and secure.
Don’t mind politics that much, because we are living in a country that is completely
controlled by the powerful, the rich, the INFLUENTIAL…
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Random thoughts...