Merry Christmas! May all your dreams come true!
Except for specific material items, Christmas wishes are mostly wishful thinking, knowing that what we most want may be difficult or almost impossible to attain, but we do so anyway.
Keenly aware of that, here is my wishlist anyway.
No. 1 is the staple beauty queen wish – world peace. Why? Because all wars are disruptive. Anywhere in the world, armed conflict affects us all. Our economies are all interrelated – our shared resources of minerals, crude oil, natural gas, marine life, agricultural production and even human movement are all affected by the domino effect of war. Production is often halted, resulting in global supply chain problems, shortages occur in crude oil, food and vital mineral resources, affecting global production. It also leads, eventually, to unwanted human migration, which burdens neighboring countries and leads to more unwanted conflict.
Production and peaceful cooperation are also affected as countries start taking sides, creating a global rift that has not been seen since World War II. Even the United Nations, which was formed in 1945, appears to be having difficulty restraining its members from further conflicts to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.
I hope that global leaders once again come together to truly work on peaceful co-existence instead of creating separate alliances that put the world at risk, with each alliance working on expanding separate spheres of influence and control—economically and militarily.
No. 2 is better quality education for Filipinos. It is disheartening that our nation, once hailed for having good quality education, has now been scoring low in terms of creative thinking assessment by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), with the Philippines now ignominiously ranked among the bottom four among 64 countries.
Filipino students, sad to say, attained low scores at par with Albania, Uzbekistan and Morocco. The Philippines’ mean score of 14 is well below the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average of 33.
The Philippines’ ranking is even lower than our neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei and Malaysia all scored slightly better than us. In contrast, among those who topped the PISA assessment on creative thinking were Singapore with 41 and Korea with 38.
The decline in creative thinking among Filipinos is evident, even in terms of fashion, art and entertainment. More Filipinos are turning to Korea for inspiration, with K-pop, K-fashion and K-dramas becoming the preferred staples of Filipinos nowadays.
No. 3 is for a better mass transport system. Just like education, the Philippine transport system has regressed instead of progressing. In reality, the Philippines was the first to embark on the light rail system but is now so far behind compared to our ASEAN and Asian neighbors.
No. 4 is complementary to No. 3, which is for better public infrastructure and connectivity. It is unfortunate that the government seems to be turning over this function to the private sector to build and operate tollways, airports and seaports on the grounds that the private sector can more efficiently run such systems, at an added cost to taxpayers who rely on the government to undertake such projects. Instead, the additional cost of toll payments is carried by the public for the private sector proponents to recoup their investment.
No. 5 is for agricultural self-sufficiency and food security. It is sad to see our once productive agricultural rice fields near Mega Manila lying fallow and eventually converted for commercial or real estate development as our farmers age and the younger generation turns away from the agricultural sector.
Instead, the Philippines increasingly relies on imports for a number of agricultural produce. Marine resources are dwindling because of overfishing, pollution, climate change and even territorial disputes. Rice, garlic, onions and even salt are being imported in ever-increasing quantities. Once-abundant local marine resources are declining and are being replaced by farmed species that are not endemic to us. Even our once-abundant supply of tuna and other marine fish has been overfished, requiring us to import from our neighbors. Salmon is now more often available than local fresh marine-caught fish.
The government and even the education sector do not seem to appreciate the urgency of ensuring that agricultural education continues and is prioritized so that the country can reverse the decline in our agricultural self-sufficiency.
No. 6 is respect for our culture. Filipinos are so adaptable. Every nation that has conquered or subdued us has left their indelible print – from Spain to the United States. Although Japan occupied us for a brief period of time, their influence persisted during a more peaceful period after the war, when we began to appreciate the quality and durability of Japanese-made products, their cuisine and their culture. Nowadays, Japan has replaced Hong Kong as our favorite tourist destination.
Nowadays, K-pop, K-dramas, Korean beauty products and Korean cuisine are all the rage, with even our boy and girl bands trying to emulate the K-pop performers. Unfortunately, our own culture continues to erode—a mishmash of everything – an ever-changing chameleon. What is truly Filipino nowadays?
We even prefer imported products rather than local ones – from household goods, small appliances, televisions, canned goods and candies – name it, and their more popular alternatives are imported rather than local.
No. 7 is political maturity. May 2025 is just around the corner, and this early, campaigning has already started, with streamers and posters already up and spread around the country for the candidates who are already deemed frontrunners for the top senatorial posts. Even local barangay leaders, during the traditional barangay Christmas gift-giving, are actively campaigning for local leaders who are also up for re-election or are vying anew for another chance at regaining their past post after a brief respite.
Unfortunately, the public remains gullible and refuses to educate themselves about the qualities of the candidates. Instead, they continue to rely on promises of handouts and assistance, content with the election freebies that they can get.
My wishlist could go on and on, but, like I acknowledged at the start of this column, these are more wishful thinking. Will the wish for more integrity vanquish corruption? Will a wish for discipline and cooperation solve the perennial traffic problem? Will corporate business prioritize quality over profit? Will truth prevail?
Wish ko lang.