EDITORIAL - Lessons from SONA poster boys

Fidel Ramos had Felipe Natanio, a.k.a. Mang Pandoy, a vegetable vendor and father of eight. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has Jason Vann Banogan, Jomar Pabalan and Erwin Dolera, also known as the “Bangkang Papel” boys. They were all symbols of the government’s commitment to make life better for the poorest Filipinos.

Mang Pandoy, presented by Ramos at his first SONA in 1992, was given his own show in government television, for which he received P2,000 per episode. Mang Pandoy was not made for broadcasting; the show was scrapped in its third year. He was then hired as a consultant in the office of then speaker Jose de Venecia, and received a house and other government dole-outs. But Mang Pandoy, who reached only third grade, proved better at growing vegetables than growing his money. He sold his house and ended up penniless and jobless after the Ramos administration was over. He returned to selling vegetables and died of tuberculosis in 2008.

President Arroyo’s SONA poster boys, who wrote their dreams of a better life on paper boats, were also given seed money for their families’ livelihood. Their parents used the money to open small businesses while the boys received their wish for educational scholarships. Banogan and Pabalan are now taking up computer courses while Dolera is a mass communication student.

Because of education, the boys can truly look forward to a better future. It can be argued that it was too late for that kind of intervention in the case of Mang Pandoy, who also had to worry about eight mouths to feed. He could have benefited more from skills training and financial advice, which could have allowed him to achieve more realistic goals of self-improvement. But everything is always better in hindsight. His story at least is not being repeated in the case of the three boys with their paper boats. Instead the boys’ stories provide lessons in empowering people, and the value of education in the battle against poverty.