3rd world money to lend to 1st world nations?

Just as I was preparing to fire broadsides against Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino, this fellow suddenly turns tail and withdraws his House Bill no. 6330, that bill that would have removed all icons from all government institutions and worse… no religious activity would be allowed in government offices and institutions. In truth, we were busy preparing for a huge rally against this bill in Cebu, so I guess now that is moot and academic.

Last Thursday I was with our beloved eminence Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal to interview him on my talkshow “Straight from the Sky” and this was one of the topics that we talked about, including the still controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill, the up and coming divorce bill and perhaps a same sex bill in the future, all of which are an offense to God.

Naturally, the proponents of all these anti-God laws come from people or groups that follow a godless ideology. Yes I’m talking about the communists and those who believe in their cause. Sure, many of them still insist that they are Catholics, but in truth… they are what we call “Cafeteria Catholics” the kind who believes that the Ten Commandments are mere suggestions… not commands.

While I salute Rep. Palatino for making a public apology and withdrawing the controversial bill to the great delight of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), however, there are many other “Palatinos” lurking out there waiting for their 10 minutes of fame and then suddenly someone pulls out a similar proposal, then we’re back to square one. The RH bill is our best example. It began its life as a House bill with a different number and years later, like the proverbial Phoenix it resurrects in a different form with the same ill-effects for the unborn.

Anyway, what Rep. Palatino just did reminds me of how useless the party-list system has become. The party-list is one of the reasons why we have a dysfunctional democracy. We came from a one-man rule called the Marcos dictatorship that threw out our two-party system of governance when he declared Martial Law. But after the EDSA Revolt, we supposedly restored our democratic system… but the 49 men and women that President Cory anointed to change the Constitution put in this stupidity called party-list system and 25 years later our democracy isn’t working the way it should be.

If by chance we get to rewrite our charter… I will fight for the abolition of the party-list system and bring back the old two-party system where politics were much saner and while we’re at it… Senators should be elected on a per region basis… or if we adopt a Federal system, on a per state basis. Better yet… let’s do away with senators… and instead, the Regional or State Governors would become senators. In that way, each region or state would be represented… unlike what we have today where the Senate has become a family oriented establishment.

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When I read the news report that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) pledged $1 billion to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help poor countries and distressed economies like the Euro zone, notably Greece and Spain, I decided to first wait and find out what the others thought about this idea. Well, from radio commentators, they were mostly negative because countries that donate or loan money to the IMF or the World Bank are so-called 1st world countries and we are far from that rank, being a 3rd world country.

Indeed, this issue is now the flavor of the week being discussed in many coffeehouses here. The main question really is… why are we giving loans to the Euro zone? Sure we can get interests for our money, but many are in agreement that we also need that money here at home!

This pledge was given by BSP Governor Armando Tetango Jr. during the Group of 20 Meeting in Mexico and has been supported by President Aquino. So may we ask the good BSP Governor whether he consulted anyone before he made that pledge or commitment to the IMF? Mind you we’re talking about one billion dollars here… not in pesos.

I can give you a wish list of things this country needs in order to improve our economy. What about getting those classrooms and teachers that somehow previous administrations, including this one could never fix? Their usual excuse is lack of money. What about the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)? Where they consulted about this move to loan a billion dollars to the IMF? I think for the year 2011, OFWs contribution reached a staggering $19 billion to our nation’s coffers and the least that P-Noy should have done is to consult their sector. If you ask me… poor 3rd world countries like us should never loan money to 1st world nations like the Euro Zone!

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