2015 should be the year for the poor Filipino

The first article in January that I read in The Philippine STAR that struck me was written by reporter Evelyn Macairan entitled, “Pope, Noy may discuss matters of state.” She took a quote from Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma Jr. who said, “In a visit like this, where the head of state will be meeting with the President, then we could probably say it is entirely possible that they might take up matters of state.” This is something that we already wrote that President Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino better be prepared to have answers when the Pope sits down with him because they’re not going to be talking about the weather!

As head of the billion-strong Catholic Church and with the Philippines considered as 85% Catholic, for sure the Pope will certainly discuss with P-Noy major issues like the Reproductive Health Law and why the President (who still considers himself as Catholic) allowed the RH law to be the law of the land? Whether Sec. Coloma likes it or not this is a state matter that will most certainly be discussed in the meeting between the Pope and P-Noy. I’m sure P-Noy will not argue or go into a doctrinal debate with the Pope because the President has no idea of such issues.

However if and when P-Noy insists on using demography as the main principle in having to reduce our population in order to solve our poverty, I’m sure he’d get a mouthful from this Pope who is not ignorant of the many issues and problems surrounding third world countries. After all, the Philippines is closer in character to Latin American countries than our ASEAN neighbors, where we have very few things in common with.

Now if the subject of corruption comes into the table… P-Noy should better get ready with his answers because he can no longer use his overused reason that he had former Supreme Court Justice Renato Corona removed from office for the Senators have never proven that he was corrupt and many pundits believe that impeachment is a political tool to remove a head of an independent branch of government. In fact we have proof that the DAP funds were used to bribe the Senators to gain CJ Corona’s conviction!

Meanwhile this 2015, we all hope that all those politicians involved in the Janet Lim Napoles scam would be indicted and imprisoned. So far only three people, Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. have been incarcerated. But there are many more in the list of Congressmen and Senators who misused their pork barrel or benefited in the use of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).

Meanwhile the first message I got this New Year came from my good friend, Rev. Greco Belgica who texted me this message, which is connected to this article we are writing…“Unless we come together as a people to pray and demand for the investigation and prosecution of all who abused the Pork Barrel System from 1991 up to the present as directed by the Supreme Court in the Belgica case against the Pork Barrel System, stealing in the highest level of the government and extreme poverty will remain.

The 2015 National Budget/GAA has the biggest pork barrel allocation in Philippine history. Systems and people will not change on their own. Things change when people change.” PALIT LAHAT (Philippine Alliance for Liberty and Transformation for Lands, Homes and Taxes). It is for this reason why National Transformation Councils (NTC) has sprouted all over the country from Lipa, Cebu, Butuan, Clark/Pampanga, Davao and General Santos City.

Let’s face it we can no longer pretend that things would get better unless we fixed ourselves first. We need to do this for the sake of our people who have been wallowing in abject poverty for many decades. I dare say that the year 2015 should be declared as the year for the poor Filipino people and it begins with the visit of Pope Francis this month.

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One of the big names in journalism who never practiced his trade here at home is CNN China Bureau Chief Jaime Flor Cruz, whom I met in July 1989 just after the Tiananmen Square incident when I, together with four other Filipino journalists, were the first foreign visitors allowed to China. We met up with Jaime who was then a correspondent for Time Magazine. CNN then took him in as their Bureau Chief.

It was in that meeting with Jaime Flor Cruz in his flat in Beijing where we all got the idea that China was on the verge of a drastic change since the installation of Communism in 1947.

One of the first news reports that I got from CNN as the New Year started came from Christie Lou Stout who announced that Jaime Flor Cruz has retired from CNN. I don’t know whether Jaime would return to the Philippines as he has already considered China as his home. But allow me to congratulate Jaime Flor Cruz for a job well done.

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