Notes after 27
As the system continues to keep firm its its interests, especially that brought its very own rottenness, so is the vigilance of the people and its means to dismantle it.
That after seeing marches and effigy burnings, speeches and pamphlets, of braving the rain and attempts to pass through the barricades, alongside fashion shows and sumptuous food served at Batasang Pambansa, it is clear that as the present administration continues to take pride in its half-baked illusions, so is the hatred that made its constituents vent rage into social media if not in the streets facing the barricades and riot police. Such scenes may find it annoying, especially those complaining about traffic, if not side commenting how meaningless those who are trying seek truth from facts and voicing out its inconvenience, much more an alternative that requires breaking the shackles of interest.
Knowing that despite rising Gross Domestic and National Products and other economic rates, credit ratings and other terms used by economists and bragged by its apologetics and fanboys, same old problems prevail. Everybody knows that the system behind, not just the administration itself, continues to deny if not countering it with half-baked projects and half-truths whose primary intention is to keep the discontented stop from its dissention. And quite wondering that the more the system asserts its illusory remarks, the more people ridicule and ask "where were its fruits?"
Anyways, reality is much more enduring than the tales made by the system. That despite all being featured in the business reports, the gap remains widened; that despite reports boasting agricultural self-sufficiency, malnutrition prevailed with fake or expired products including rice putting everyone at risk; that despite promise of justice and equality under the law, harassments and fear against the dissenting remains at large in both cities and provinces. Of what is a righteous path the administration taking pride with if same old issues remain and still aggravated by those trying to keep firm in their interests? Does the reports coming from the state, particularly from the present administration really brought justice to the affected and awareness to everyone? A few would be but doesn't guarantee knowing that these reports, consists of statements and half-baked projects are actually existing gimmick than a constitutional policy.
In fact, according to Diosdado Macapagal, in his preface from the University of the East thesis "The Welfare State", said:
"The expectation of the nation's resources for the benefit of the few is traceable to the colonial period when in pursuit of the policy of administering and developing the country primarily for the aggrandisement of the colonial power, the government and economy was placed in the continuous control of the representatives of the ruling power and the native who collaborated with them in a coalition of monopoly and exploitation.
When independence was finally restored in 1946, the country remained in the monopolistic hold of the indigenous elite who had reaped the opulence and power from aggrandizing coalition with the colonial master whom they had largely replaced.
In the exuberance of liberation from alien rule and exploitation, it was natural for the impoverished masses to hope that they could expect better justice from the new ruling oligarchy composed of their own countrymen. But they have been continually disenchanted as six administrations went by without meaningful reform that would give them the social justice denied them for centuries except to some extent in land reform which abolished peasant slavery in 1963 but even this has been inadequately implemented."
Well, like what Macapagal said, there are meaningful reforms that are inadequately impemented if not treated as a political gimmick. So much for its "pride" that obviously failed to feed, clothe, given shelter, dispense justice to its constituents. So much for reforms that end up as scraps of paper and intensifies popular protests. And for sure as discontent brews greater via comments in social media sites and commentaries in print, so are those whom again repeating the same whining on behalf of the system (or the "silent majority" as what they self-proclaim) against those whom are protesting, of pelting rotten eggs and enduring the water cannons being fired as they want to go straight from the barricades and riot policemen.
Whether their words speaks of blatant reaction or counterreaction, of trying to accept the status quo (with all the illusions of development) or insist paper reforms (with all the illusions of change), for sure these can't appease those who felt rising costs of goods and services, lower purchasing power of their budgets, really existing landlordism, rampant corruption, and repression that brought fear and death especially to those whom trying to voice out their sentiment, after all, they have seen shit all the time as they encounter it in actual or in the TV. Again, like what Macapagal said:
"Instead of reform and social justice, the people have seen monopoly and exploitation in continued ascendancy, vested interest expanding and becoming more strongly entrenched, government being used as a mechanism for worsening corruption instead of as an implement for true public service, national leaders joining the vested interests instead of helping to lift the masses from their bondage, and in this process of continued exploitation and oppression, popular rights and liberties were being steadily repressed in order to insure the continued despotism by the politico-economic autarchy over the populace who are helpless in the poverty. The pang of persistent exploitation has been aggravated by the painful circumstance that now the oppression is not so much from foreigners as from our own countrymen.
...The Old-style, U.S. inherited, profit-motive, laissez-faire capitalism that has been mindlessly worshipped by so many Filipinos has never worked to provide them with a decent standard of living, and it has zero chances of success now in these days of ferment and impatience...the people themselves must organise and fight for their rights..."
Sorry to use Macapagal as a reference, but, in today's era he could be deemed as subversive for speaking like no other activist in telling that the Filipino must organise and fight for their rights, that to revolt against the tradition of backwardness and corruption is to be justified. Why are the people, whether it is a farmer, a worker, a student, a professional, yet all suffering from crisis and widened gaps resorted to marches, throwing rotten eggs, stones, burning effigies, up to the taking of arms and declare armed struggle? The system that afforded to vent pride in the session hall has actually nothing serious to deal with centuries old issues besides those of its gimmicks, while apologists insist that there are major changes be it those of a rising economy, growing infrastructure, military modernisation, anything just to be bragged for chrissakes regardless of its actually existing defects and rising poverty rates. Righteous path is like any other tagline as Strong Republic, Angat Pinoy, Philippines 2000, or even the New Society that failed to curb landlordism, restoring integrity to a rotting bureaucracy, nor taking an independent course as a free and independent nation after being restored in 1946.
Macapagal may had admitted that there are shortcomings and failures in his presidency, and for sure he regretted some of his policies that actually steered his nation backwards like his decontrol and other policies that is obviously, subservient to the interests of domestic and foreign oligarchs. But how about Aquino and his gang of opportinistic misfits who can't even punish their corrupted personages and taking pride in policies coming from their predecessors instead of theirs, if not old ways in new names? For sure one would rememeber how President Aquino once said he will end the Conditional Cash Transfer for it is Arroyo's, yet he still continue what his predecessor do under Dinky Soliman, hence GloriAquino, or even Neo-Arroyo! There are so many matters people would love to scruitinise in the name of seeking truth from facts, and remember: Macapagal was also a fellow Liberal like Aquino, and he can be as much Social Democratic as Abad and Hontiveros! Opportunistic misfits care to take pride in whatever project it may be, but to think that they benefit from its kickbacks, it negated its value no matter how "people benefited from its projects." The path that is righteous has been soiled and bloodied, regardless of what its paid hacks, its unpaid aologetics, and vast mass of counterreaction insist its relevance.
And since few months from now and a new person comes in Malacañang's halls, whether it is yellow or orange, blue or green, sorry to say but these are both sides of the same coin being flipped. The ones on high, controlling every sphere the state has trying to protect, knew how corrupt those people behind those political colours the way the latter reaffirmed its agenda of keeping interests firm; time and again, from its media outlet to its paid hacks and unpaid apologetics would babble heaven and hell to everyone speaking on behalf of their inconveniences, that as if can bring an end in favour to the system's behalf with all of its desperate antics.
But, it's up to the latter if they accept those illusions, or counter it the way they want to go beyond from enforced parameters in pursuit of a really meaningful change. Even those within those featured colours are willing to break away if time comes with enough sanity and idealism to keep in themelves. Just wait and see.