The first two – desaparecidos and deaths – are negative, but why did I include taxes in the title? If a political observer is from outside the Philippines, they may not be related, but if the society in which they live is the Philippines, they can clearly be grouped together in this column.
There are many who are lost today, especially among the students (mga nangawawala ngayon, lalo sa hanay ng mga mag-aaral). The Marcos Martial Law nightmare seems to be returning (Batas Militar ni Marcos Sr). That nightmare of yours is still better than the nightmares of the disappeared back in the 1970s and early 1980s because they will no longer have nightmares – they are gone for the duration of time. It is just that there is no closure for their relatives. We search for missing pets. How much more for missing persons? To make matters worse, it turns out that the perpetrators of the losses are not oppressive foreigners but Filipinos.
Killings follow. Many of these are even documented on CCTV and video by cellphone users. Many people ask: Why is it so easy to kill and be killed? Netizens monitor these cases and write comments on social media – some lament (nararapat lamang), some regret the lives lost (nararapat lamang), and some have nothing good to say, but comment anyway (hindi karapat-dapat). Wake up, gatekeepers, because young people are already in, watching and reading all these.
The culture of impunity that is slightly touched in a few subjects in junior and senior high school and college is really getting worse. However, not a few say it “should not” be discussed in class. Where do they get such a false idea of hiding the truth (pagtatago ng katotohanan) – that this is happening in the country, but it seems that there is no expectation from the police and the government to change the situation towards a better tomorrow even inch by inch? We do not blame everyone, but the new chief of the national police himself is having problems (namomroblema) with his fellow policemen, as well as with politicians who are blatantly undermining the organization and operations of the PNP.
Taxes now. Middle-class Filipinos yell, “More taxes again?” They add: “What a waste we pay taxes on useless projects”; “more deductions from the salary due to withholding taxes and so on, but they only have them for official travels overseas (ipinangbabiyahe).” I understand some official foreign trips are needed, but who gets the benefit if there is (kapakinabangan kung meron)? What is the explanation of the benefit if any? Wala namang napapala kalimitan. But hey, many Filipinos do not study their depressed economy and are still satisfied with “pledges.” Paasa sa wala. Wala rin sa papel kung kailan. They are miserable but blind to the truth of the suffering they themselves are experiencing.
The underlying principle is simple – listen to both sides. If people approved of the Mahalika Investment Fund (MIF), who did they listen to? The likes of former Bangko Sentral Deputy Gov. Diwa Guinigundo (kung babalewalain na lang daw ba ang mga babala niya; kung nasaan na raw ba ang due diligence o pag-iingat ng Kongreso; at kung napapanahon daw ba ang sovereign wealth fund)? Or Chinkee Tan (kung ano raw ba ang iinvest mo kung wala kang pang-invest)? The two are experts in finance and, more importantly, hindi palasawsaw sa pulitika. But the analysis of many is clear that critical thinking has weakened or no longer exists among many of our fellow Filipinos. Hindi na nga nagla-lobby sa kanilang mga kinatawan sa Kongreso, oo pa nang oo. Yes, even when there is no certainty of where the policy will end up that actually has something to do with the future of the next generation of their children and grandchildren.
DC Alviar
Professor DC Alviar serves as a member of the steering committee of the Philippine International Studies Organization (PHISO). He was part of National University’s community extension project that imparted the five disciplines of a learning organization (Senge, 1990) to communities in a local government unit. He writes and edits local reports for Mega Scene. He graduated with a master’s degree in development communication from the University of the Philippines Open University in Los Baños. He recently defended a dissertation proposal for his doctorate degree in communication at the same graduate school under a Philippine government scholarship grant. He was editor-in-chief of his high school paper Ang Ugat and the Adamson News.
