For the past three weeks I have been on the hustings for my son Joel Sison who is running for councilor in the fourth district of Quezon City. I go around several barangays in the district directly coming into contact with the residents and sometimes personally conversing with some of them, time permitting.
Actually, I am trying to help Joel in his house to house campaign together with his brother and campaign manager Jopet. Since the area is quite big, we have to go separately so we can get to as many people in the district as we can. To be sure, we may just write the residents in the high class residential and gated subdivisions as we may not be able to reach them anymore because of the linear distance separating their houses and the privacy restrictions imposed therein. Hence most of the areas we have reached so far are places which have been aptly but impudently called “depressed areas”.
The areas are really “depressed” in the sense that several shanties, crudely put together with cast-out materials, occupy just a few square meters of space. Each shanty is a one room “unit” that serves as the dining room, bedroom and sala of the residents some of which have doors so low that one has to stoop in order to get in and out. Before reaching these residents, we have to grope our way through narrow and bumpy alleys that are so dark as if it is already night time even in the middle of the day. It is almost like passing through a tunnel that emits light only at its end. The brighter and wider alleys on the other hand are likewise cramp, damp and patchy because of women washing clothes, people cooking their meal, and others selling foods and all sorts of goods. “Squalid” is the most accurate adjective that could best describe the neighborhood.
These places are also “depressed” from the point of view of people who do not stay there and have gone there for the first time. It is really hard not to feel gloomy, not to have a depressing feeling after seeing those places. And Quezon City has plenty of them. It is like coming to another distant “world” even if it is just a few minutes’ drive away. Plenty of Filipino movies may have depicted such places but the actual situation there is still very much different. Indeed those movies depict the typical “slums” we used to know in the past but these “depressed areas” are worse.
Paradoxically, the very people living in such wretched condition, or a good number of them anyway, do not look depressed at all. As they wallow in the midst of so much dirt, grime and slime, they can still manage to smile or even break out into subdued laughter as we greet and talk to them. The general expression in their faces is one of resignation to their depraved situation akin to the “grin and bear it” attitude. They look happy in their kind of life as long as they can have such “luxuries” as water and electricity. The few other “lucky” ones enjoy colored TV sets while others who are not as fortunate pass their time playing bingo, “baraha” and other parlor games. Certainly, they seem to be “happier” than some other people who have more in life and who live in much better neighborhoods. Indeed there are rich and moneyed people who may be more “depressed” than they are. If they just go to these depressed areas not only ones but more often and see how the people living there cheerfully cope with their sad state of life, their spirits may already be lifted. They may even feel so blessed and somehow develop that feeling of generosity as would impel them to start sharing their blessings. Or their conscience may bother them to do so.
During election time another glaring paradox is the ostentatious display of wealth of the filthy rich candidates as they lavishly and exorbitantly spend and waste billions of pesos for campaign propaganda materials and media advertising in order to promote themselves as champions of the dirt poor and win the election. Wasting and throwing away so much money in the midst of poverty and hunger all around them is definitely contrary to their avowed purpose of helping the poor. This highly expensive and extravagant style of campaigning clearly shows that they are merely exploiting the poor for their own selfish interest so that if they win, they will become richer and the poor will become poorer to be exploited once more come next election. This has happened in almost every election and it is happening again in a grander scale and more scandalous way during this election.
Candidates whose hearts are really for the poor will certainly not squander and throw away so much money because their conscience will surely bother them. They will try to limit their expenses and spend only what is allowed by law. Indeed, their sincerity in seeking an elective office and in rendering public service is shown by their earnest efforts to strictly follow the election laws and obey the rules and regulations for campaigning. They do not try to win the election at any and all cost or by any and all means fair and foul.
In the coming elections, we should be mindful of all these paradoxes not only in exercising our right of suffrage but also in assessing the real political, social and economic situation of our country today. These paradoxes may also be useful to candidates in the conduct of their campaign.
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E-mail at: jcson@pldtdsl.net