EDITORIAL - Be part of the solution

Sen. Edgardo Angara wasn’t expressing anything new when he said Filipinos were becoming hopeless. This was the gist of the results of a recent survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations Inc. According to the poll, those who felt hopeless would leave the country if given the opportunity. Angara, however, embellished the survey results, saying the feeling of hopelessness was due to a "failure of leadership" and unparalleled economic difficulties.

One can’t blame Angara for his constant tirades against the administration. He is, after all, the head of the opposition. Make that the supposedly responsible, moderate opposition — as opposed to a smaller group identified with efforts to destabilize the administration last year. In a democracy, the opposition provides the necessary checks and balances. A responsible opposition provides constructive criticism, in the name of national interest.

Constructive criticism, however, can quickly deteriorate into nit-picking, especially when politics becomes the main driving force. This is what Angara and his allies should guard against. If Filipinos are tired of democracy, as another survey showed, it is partly because people are sick of the paralysis at the Senate, of endless political bickering, of constant fault-finding and power play. Little work is getting done. We are being left behind by the rest of the world because we are cursed with self-absorbed national leaders who jump at every opportunity to grandstand.

Angara, to his credit, has said his group will not support any attempt to unseat President Arroyo through yet another people power revolt or coup. The opposition prefers to wait until 2004, when it hopes to win the presidency, he said. In the meantime, it may be better for Angara and his colleagues to concentrate on getting legislation done. If some Filipinos think they are in a hopeless situation, the opposition must share some of the blame. Instead of being part of the problem, opposition members must try to become part of the solution.