Change
Change. This must have been in the minds of the people who voted for Rodrigo Duterte. But change for what? To most Filipinos it is a change that brings about a better quality of life for them. For the fact is that despite the vaunted high GDP of 6 percent or more in the last few years some 30 percent of the people still classify themselves poor. Some nine million are either unemployed or under-employed; while about 10 million are working abroad for want of work in the local front. With this situation, change is needed very urgently in our economic policy. And that policy should center on what we should do to generate employment.
Poverty simply means unemployment. But why can't we create more jobs? Sometime ago there was a move in Congress to amend a provision in our Constitution which limits ownership by foreign capitalists of their entrepreneurial ventures in the country. Realized, this measure would have attracted more foreign investors and more jobs could have been created. But Malacañang tamped down this initiative, never mind if our FDI is the lowest in Asia. What change is needed here? Clearly it's the change to make Congress less beholden to the whims and caprices of the Executive Office.
Low FDI is exacerbated by the poor state of our infrastructure; especially in transportation both land and air. Our power supply too, as well as other needed industrial inputs, is inadequate. How can we attract investors?
More urgent change is called for in the red-tape ridden bureaucracy insofar as processing business applications is concerned. As it is, bribery is the order of the day for the scores of signatures needed. Simplifying this and getting rid of corrupt practices will surely go a long way towards attracting foreign locators in this country.
In his campaign speeches Duterte zeroed in on criminality and drug problem as his very urgent tasks once elected. He vowed to use even extra legal means to wipe out criminals and drug lords and their cohorts. But this measure is directly antitheses to democratic process and the president will no doubt think twice before using it.
More effective in controlling criminality is controlling poverty through employment opportunities. This is the more civilized way of attacking this problem. An empty stomach is no doubt the devil's workshop, and if that stomach includes those of your loved ones the impulse to cross the line between right and wrong is very strong.
Filling empty stomachs is therefore the way to put down criminality and social violence. The only drawback to this approach is that it takes years before its effects can be felt. But the new president wants to get rid of criminals and misfits in six months or less. So once he takes his oath will there be fireworks in crime infested places?
Policy changes, these are, and are external to the stakeholders, who are the mainstream Filipinos. These changes are therefore transitory or temporary. Whoever leads may sustain them or do away with them.
A more enduring change is change of heart among us Filipinos. In the years before the Second World War our people were reputed to be imbued with basic Christian values. We were an honest and peace loving people, hardworking and law-abiding. But after the war, a screw seemed to have gotten loose in the Filipino mind, a sociologist once said, and deviant behaviors started to become a social phenomenon.
The western idea of pragmatism and self-fulfillment started to take root as a world view and this gradually eroded the layer of Christian concepts in the persona of our people. In the social scene religious practices are still observable, but where's the authentic Christian?
With this trend it's difficult to expect our leaders' hearts to bleed for the poor. Three scores and ten have gone by since Independence but the rich have become richer while the poor have become poorer. Pro-poor initiatives have been taken but landed barons have sabotaged these and most farmers have remained slaves in their own land.
Change of leadership? Yes and change of hearts too--for both leaders and followers.
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