PNoy to the Pinoys: Kayo ang Boss Ko

This is my first article published on Panay News (July 5, 2010). It's really outdated, but I think you ought to read this because it still has some relevance left. That is, if you actually care about what's going on around you.

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On 30th June, 2010, Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino was sworn is as the Philippines’ 15th President. After taking his Presidential oath, PNoy, as President Aquino prefers to be called, delivered his inaugural speech. And in his speech contains his promises, visions and goals for the country during for the duration of his term in office. I will now point out some of his promises that have caught my fancy. The first is his (now famous) line, “Kayo ang boss ko.” That line says it all. PNoy has his eyes set that his administration will mirror what Article II, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution said: “…Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.” Most people probably don’t know that, and that they think that since the President is the highest position in the land, he/she is the boss. It’s great that President Aquino reminded us that it is the other way around. We can only hope that the words in that line won’t stay just as words but be made into action.Another issue that President Aquino pointed out (and is probably the most famous of all his promises) is his outlawing of the private use of sirens or wangwangs.Nobody would probably argue with me when I say that sirens are darn irritating. You’re stuck in traffic, late for a very important meeting and you can’t do anything. Then, these rich douchebags unrightfully use their sirens to penetrate the dense traffic. That could drive a man very mad. Not only is the sound created by wangwangs irritating to hear, but the fact that the guy behind you used illegal means to get what he wants could really cut your patience short. So I could only imagine the relief of other everyday drivers must have felt now that sirens, along with blinkers and huge fog lights, are now banned for private use. But I think it’s not a very good idea for President Aquino not to use his wangwang (the President is exempted) when he’s caught in traffic. Sure, he’s just trying to set an example, but he has to also consider his safety. A VIP like the president stuck in traffic could set him up very vulnerable to assassination. The PSG are human, too, and are susceptible to error in protecting the Chief Executive no matter how experienced they may be.On education, the President promised he will build more classrooms and educational facilities and make education better and more effective for the youth.You’re probably saying to your self that you’ve heard that promise before. Virtually every President, every politician for that matter, promise to make education better for everyone. This is one promise that should be monitored by both PNoy’s critics and followers alike. Past presidents have promised to make the educational system better for the Filipinos but, frankly, the “system” hasn’t changed much. Despite those promises of the past, public schools, especially in the rural areas, remain a horrible sight to see. Fifty to 100 children clustered together in one classroom. Three to five children sharing one educational material (hand outs, books, etc.). Broken chairs, leaking roofs, flooded school grounds. These are the usual scenes in public schools. If you want to avoid scenes like these nowadays, send your child to private school. But we all know, not all of us can send our children to private schools. Being realistic, education today is more of a luxury than a necessity. Having been raised by a public school teacher-mother and a public school principal-father, I’m very familiar as to how bad the situation of public schools is. President Aquino has got to fulfill this promise. Put those other promises in the backseat. Education (or the lack of it) is the root of all our country’s problems. Joblessness, poverty, corruption, you name it. They all emanate from illiteracy. Again, we can only hope that President Aquino will act on what he has promised and let his words remain as words. Another issue I would like to point out is based on President Aquino’s (other famous) line, made popular during his campaign, “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap”. President Aquino would like to eliminate poverty by eliminating corruption. Sadly, corruption cannot, in its entirety, be eliminated. Let’s be real. It’s part of the human experience. An alternative that President Aquino could do is control corruption to a minimum.“Minimize” would be a better term to use than “eliminate”. Yes, there will be government officials who will engage in corrupt practices. What President Aquino could do is find a way to minimize the corrupt ones. How he does that is up to him. Also, basing on the “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” line, it could be implied that President Aquino firmly believes that corruption is the main reason why a lot of people are stuck in poverty. But we must not forget that it is not the only reason. There are other factors to consider, including natural calamites, man-made calamities, evil practices (other than corruption, i.e, robbery, swindling, even killing another person) committed by other people and the like. President Aquino must find ways to deal with such factors. He must not focus too much on just one cause of poverty. The issue that has caught my attention the most is his plan of putting up a Truth Commission to investigate on the alleged corrupt administrations that preceded his. He should do exactly that. But the thing is, basing on what we hear on the evening news, President Aquino sounds so vindictive when discussing about punishing ex-president and now Pampanga second district Representative Gloria Arroyo for her “corrupt” deeds. He sounds so sure that Mrs. Arroyo had indeed engaged in corrupt practices. I may be wrong about thinking PNoy is vindictive. All I hope for is that the trial against Arroyo is fair. No, I am not a Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo fan or supporter. It’s just that I feel pity for her because many portray her as an evil, power-hungry politician. I don’t know if all those are true. But what I do know, that is not just the side of Gloria Arroyo. The other side, which most of us fail to see, is the side that made great strides for our country in the field of economics and infrastructures. Let me offer this as a summary: Former President Arroyo wasn’t the best president, but she’s not that bad. I hope the Truth Commission, most like will be composed of Arroyo’s critics, will be fair in investigating. They have to look at both sides of the coin before passing judgment. Do any thing on the contrary, and it will destroy President Aquino’s vision of a justice-oriented administration. How can we, the people of the Philippines, expect that the “lower” government positions will be just in what they do if the one occupying the highest position in the land shows prejudice and bias in a certain issue? Regardless of whether we personally like President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino or not, we must aside our own political bias and prejudices and do our little (yet oh-so-significant) part to help our country become better. PNoy’s promises are the threads that hold together our country’s hope for change. Sulong Pilipinas!