How did the masses feel about the capture of the top officials of the CPP-NPA? Fortunately, we have achieved unprecedented socio-economic progress under the Aquino administration. Otherwise, we might as well just ask ourselves why the masses overwhelmingly elected once-accused coup-plotters or revolutionaries Senators Honasan and Trillanes in the Senate. And why a symbol of hope and triumph that that the late Cory Cojuangco-Aquino helped propel his worthy son to the Philippine presidency. Its a global trend, that the masses in fact the very power bases of many governments now the middle-classes have less respect and less trust with their governments. But a laborer that I chatted with is cautiously somewhat positive. He would not let his son be recruited by the NPA, saying its commanders & officials live privileged and rather comfortable lives, its fighters live very difficult lives. I am curious though, if the struggles of the poor masses, historically marginalized communities, should the CPP-NPA be so finally defeated, find its manifestations in other organized ways and means, peaceful or violent. Maybe. To address it calls for a simple but nearly impossible acts for government officials and the civil society - perform your duties with conscious sense of loyalty and honesty, and with some compassion. How can one of the poorest major countries in Asia (were still too far from achieving the level of economic developments that many of our neighbors achieved a decade ago) - the only major Christian nation at that (East Timors population is comparable only to one of our regions) allow severe corruption to perpetuate? I studied in 3 Catholic schools, and the overwhelming majority of corrupt public officials graduated from our top universities either sectarian or with Christian churches in its campuses. I call on the top officers of the top universities and the top officials of the churches - please wage a unified front against corruption, actively and forcefully. And initiate it now, the Aquino administration is conducive to it, the timing is perfect - he would want his legacy, and of his family to be enhanced by his last acts in his last 2 years in power. He is past his peak needs (I guess) for careful and deliberate balancing acts to not offend allies to efficiently pursue and achieve his objectives, goals and dreams for the Filipinos. Again, I say this - its cruelty - beyond apathy - for the Philippine civil society to simply shrug off and turn its back on severe corruption still stunting our attainments of our full potential, this poor but proudly Catholic nation in prosperous Asia. Millions of families, devastated by Supertyphoon Haiyan (Typhoon Yolanda), and so many millions more all over the country are suffering from and arguably devastated by decades-old severe corruption. So many foreign donors - agencies and governments labored and lent us development funds - so much of it stolen and its net positive effects and impact paled in the monstrosity of our atrocious massive corruption. And so tiny efforts, superficial at that, from our part - the civil society. When you want an insurgency to simply implode or the fighting spirit of its fighters evaporate - make it irrelevant. Discrimination, widespread poverty, the great divide between the lives of the extreme ends of the few super tycoons and the millions of the poor masses (one of the worst in the world) - are fuels of insurgencies. Corruption help perpetuate this disparity - and we just happened to be lucky that jobs in other countries and our English speaking college graduates enabled millions to rise to middle class status, facts that also afford most of us complacency. Rian Igos and I were recent organized crime victims, not by petty and serious criminals, but by police officers. Were personally devastated and endangered, yet we proudly achieved what Filipinos who fight their fears and apathy can achieve. Its not heroic, its simply practical.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 13:23:29 +0000
Trending Topics
© 2015