PINOYS' HOPE FOR 2022: A NEW CHAPTER OF SANE, COMPETENT, AND DECENT GOVERNANCE

“People are already tired.” (Vice- President Leni Robredo on the drop in PRRD’s satisfaction rating)

“[W]e have had almost two years of regress. The September 2021 SWS national survey found 57 percent saying they had gotten worse off in the previous year, versus only 13 percent saying they had gotten better off.” (Mahar Mangahas in his PDI column “Two Years of Worsening”)

Pinoys’ hope for 2022 is both simple and complex. Simple because it is obvious and common – Pinoys have had enough and tired.  It is complex because it will take a tough transformation of the nation.

CALL FOR SANITY

Coming under pressure from the UN for a probe and ICC’s announcement to investigate the drug war, PRRD administration thru DOJ released the details of 52 (among 6K plus) drug war deaths – a rare admission that abuses might have taken place. Some victims had no traces of gunpowder on their hands, nor had a gun at all – debunking the usual police excuse of “they fought back.” Police also used excessive force and shot suspects at a close range, among others.

In retrospect, the one tragedy that shocked and enraged the nation was the death of a 17-year-old high school student named Kian Delos Santos.

“Please… I have a test tomorrow,” Kian’s last words as he pleaded before he was killed. Around the country at that time, every mother could not help imagining: “He could have been my own kid.” And for Kian’s family, passing his next day’s test would have meant a lot of things: a step closer to his dream of no longer using a cooking oil when giving a massage to his father, of his mother’s giving up her overseas work as a domestic helper, of having a bed for each of his siblings, of expanding their sari-sari store to support his family. And, ironically, passing his next day’s test would have meant a step closer to his dream of becoming a policeman.

“Bato de la Rosa vows Oplan Tokhang 2 if elected president.” (Headline)

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.” (Quote notably attributed to Albert Einstein)

The global impact of PRRD’s bloody drug war has been so grave and glaring that the three major prestigious international awards had rooted in such drug war their citations on the dangerous and relentless investigative reporting carried out by the fearless award recipients that exposed the brutal killing campaign.

·                        2021 Nobel Peace Prize to Maria Ressa

        2018 Pulitzer Prize to Reuters

        2018 Time Person of the Year to Maria Ressa

NEED FOR COMPETENCE

Pharmally scandal simplified in my article “We Must Choose A Leader To Lead Us To Where We Must Go,” was like my house repair and my incompetent hiring of my buyer of the construction materials I needed.

Malampaya scandal, on the other hand, is like a profitable gasoline station I owned. Money-wise, it’s 17 times bigger than Pharmally scandal. Outright, I sold my gasoline station to somebody without even taking into account that someone more qualified could offer a better deal. In fact, I could have offered the gasoline station to my son who could operate it profitably.

Incompetence characterizes the decision-making process of both scandals. If we inject a “midnight deal” factor, then both situations will be stamped as corruption. Big time.

In the Philippine Patriotic Oath, the first and the last three lines are as follows:

I love the Philippines…

I will perform the duties of a patriotic, law-abiding citizen;

I will serve my country unselfishly and faithfully

I will be a true Filipino in thought, in word, in deed.

While both scandals have exemplified “incompetence in deed,” once in a while, “incompetence in thought or to think” also has turned up as shown below:

“Wow, how can you say there’s the chilling effect? Were GMA and TV5 also shut down? No. ABS-CBN is the only one that was not granted a franchise by Congress because of some issues.” (Senator Ronald de la Rosa)

Wow. Haven’t the senator heard this old Chinese idiom: kill the chicken to scare the monkey?

SENSE OF DECENCY

On the eve of the 2016 US presidential election, CNN political commentator Van Jones put the pain of Donald Trump’s election into soul-stirring words.

“It’s hard to be a parent tonight for a lot of us. You tell your kids, ‘Don’t be a bully.’ You tell your kids, ‘Don’t be a bigot.’ …Then you have this outcome, and you have people putting children to bed tonight and they’re afraid of breakfast. They’re afraid of, “’How do I explain this to my children?’”

Looking back in PH, close to six years ago, perhaps we also reflected on the same dilemma. We always have told our kids. “Don’t say bad words. Don’t insult others.” Then we had that outcome: PRRD’s election, and, maybe, as we put our children to bed that night, we’re confused: “How do I explain this to my children?”

So, for the next six years after that, in front of our TVs, we remember each time the usual expletives burst out of PRRD’s mouth, we adults in the room just look at each other, shake our heads, and hope our kids are not around.

The famous quote from “The Little Prince” is profound: “It is only in the heart that one can see rightly.”

But what is in the heart of a person? The Bible tells us how to know what is in his heart.

“His mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.” (Luke 6:45)

 Most Americans heaved a sigh of relief after they went past what Van Jones called the “nightmare.” I hope and pray we’ll go past the same in the coming May 2022 election with a new leader who will lead us in opening our Pinoy storybook with a new chapter of sane, competent, and decent governance.