The Things We Need as a Nation
By Christopher Ryan Maboloc
In
his book, Philippine Institutions, the
Jesuit John Carroll writes that Filipinos aspire for a higher standard of
living, but such has become a story of unmet expectations. Despite the rapid economic
expansion over the years, of the 50 million members of the labor force in the
country in 2015, around 6.5 million are either unemployed or underemployed,
according to the National Economic Development Authority. Today, this country has
become too polarized, but what is more injurious to our solidarity as a people is
that millions of poor Filipinos are still awaiting salvation from the dark pits
of poverty.
Early this year, Freedom House has rated the Philippines 7/12 during the second
Aquino administration in terms of the functioning of its bureaucracy. But the
trouble with Philippine democracy is that Filipinos are mesmerized by the magic
of political drama, but deep within their souls they are actually being
dominated by the political elite. While President Rodrigo Duterte represents
change, being the first elected president from Mindanao, the fact of the matter
is that the ordinary Filipino still needs to be empowered as a citizen of the
state.
According to the Asian Institute of Management, around 70% of our
lawmakers come from political dynasties. By implication, this can only mean
that the opportunity to serve is limited to a few families. The harsh truth is
that policy making is often dictated by the self-seeking interests of the powerful.
Moreover, there remains a lack of vision insofar as only one family dominates
the political scene in many local areas. As a whole, the economy is still
controlled by oligarchs, remnants of the old order who continue to divide the
spoils of a colonial past that still haunts us with damaging consequences.
Politics
in the country has been and will remain to be for many years ahead,
personality-based. This is because our historical experiences have made us
conscious about the importance of personal heroism and self-sacrifice, and so
we have developed a natural affinity for our saviors and liberators. Howard Handelman says that “democracy alone does not
guarantee a just society, but it is merely a step in the right direction.” Basic
principles will always matter to any democracy, e.g., transparency, the rule of
law, and human dignity, because without them, the very starting point of social
cooperation would not mean anything.
We have many bright young people out there but
most of them refuse to enter government service because of their negative
perception. The reason is that there is already a bias against a career in the
civil service. In this regard, the best of young minds opt to join the private
sector or work abroad. Inside our bureaucracy, we still have large numbers of
influence-peddlers and the evil reality of political accommodation, both of
which hamper the delivery of competent public service.
Politics is about two
things – perception and expectation. But the simulacrum that is Philippine democracy is still unfolding. People
often differ in their opinions and this is because we can only see the world
using our own personal biases – nothing is really objective, especially in
politics. But while that is the case, all of us expect one thing – the interest
of the common good – perhaps, our only ethical point of agreement amidst all
the chaos, personal attacks and countless insults that so often characterize
our ever perplexing narrative as a freedom-loving people.
