WHERE ARE WE GOING? (Part 2)

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

This is a continuation of what has been started this morning. This is something I've promised to Maria Cristina Tiongson, a netizen:

1. We have economic managers, whose solution to the worsening fiscal problem of the government is to borrow more from every conceivable source and impose taxes on online sellers and the marginal guys, whose key to survival has been their creativity to adapt to the changing times. The economic managers have to report fully the use of the P279 billion, which Congress has allocated under the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) in the BAHO law.

2. We have an DILG secretary, who insists that the Phl has been doing good despite the WHO assertion that the Phl had the “fastest rate” of China-Duterte Virus infection in Western Pacific. In his limited view, the DILG secretary believes the Phl would have infection of one million and deaths of 200,000 had they failed to put the country under lockdown. His figures were speculative and where he got them was dubious. He also believes that the number of viral infections is expected to rise because of the “aggressive mass testing” they are doing. He also believes the Phl is doing better than the U.S. and Brazil.

3. We have a Congress that merely played games on bills granting franchise extension to ABS-CBN, as certain congressional leaders thought they could exact tons of flesh from its owners, who were said to be bleeding hard to keep the giant network afloat. The quid pro quo is their primary consideration.

4. We have a presidential flunkey (alalay), who pretends to be a senator, attends meetings of the task force regularly even without any official functions, and pontificates on what should be done on a pandemic that he could not understand thoroughly. He was the same guy who pushed hard his ill-fated program - “Balik Probinsiya,” which had to be shelved off because it has led to the spread of the China-Duterte Virus.

5. We have lawmakers, who have abdicated their right to think, even as they keep on enacting legislative measures without thorough studies and discernment. They are the same people who have agreed to be subjugated by a mad man. They have chosen to keep silent in what could be regarded an unmitigated clampdown.

6. We have barangay officials who have become petty tyrants in their respective political constituencies, as they had set up roadblocks and checkpoints without rhyme or reason and subjected their constituents to every conceivable restriction, which was baseless and unnecessary. Together with PNP and AFP, they engaged in a systematic militarization of the environment, which was the government’s answer to the virus.

7. We have a judicial system that is bent to punish and intimidate state critics like Maria Ressa and others. These people in the judiciary are willing to circumvent the law just to serve the interest of the mad man and his ilk.

8. We have a political leadership, which refuses to see China’s responsibility in the spread of the pandemic. They refuse to see China’s machinations to escape the spate of legal actions, which other countries and private entities would bring to various fora the moment the global situation normalize and allow to get them on their feet.

9. We have a government and a state agency like DOLE with no clear programs to help returning and stranded OFWs, treating them without mercy and taking their assistance as mere afterthought. Neither do they have a program for displaced workers, particularly the daily wage earners.

10. We have a vindictive political leadership which kills initiatives and treats the Vice President as an enemy when truth is she is doing her job and just wants to help. The ill treatment extends to other persons and entities like Angel Locsin, who only fault in life is to be compassionate to the needy and adversely affected.

Sabi ni Rio Alma sa "Una't Huling Pasyon ni Rio Alma," isang tula na kanyang nilikha bago ipataw ni Ferdinand Marcos ang batas militar noong 1972:

"Isang laksang bugok, isang laksang bugok;
Laksang-laksang Pinoy na basag ang pula."

THIS is Part 1, which I've posted this morning:

WHERE ARE WE GOING?

AFTER more than three months of the most oppressive and debilitating lockdown, or quarantine, or whatever, we could only marvel with sublime frustration at the following:

1. We have a president, who has been totally overwhelmed by the pandemic aptly called China-Duterte Virus (the virus came from China and Duterte had facilitated its entry by his “Welcome China” policy.) Until now, he has no plans, programs, targets, and objectives, but keep on blaming the people he is supposed to serve. He could not cope with the pressures of his job and the pandemic issues to the point that he has threatened to commit suicide to end everything. (Ituloy mo na lang para wala ng satsatan.) You call it leadership?

2. We have a health secretary, who is clueless of his job and keeps on blaming his subordinates for his failures. He does not know he is hated right on his own backyard (where else but the DoH) and thinks he is indispensable to the point he has ignored the Senate’s call for him to resign and leave his post.

3. We have a task force mostly of retired generals, whose approach to the pandemic is largely reactive. All they know is a military solution – arrest here and there, roadblocks and checkpoints, and everything that restrict people’s movements even if they die of hunger, not the virus. Essentially, the task force does not know its job. It has not set targets, plans, and programs. It is budget oriented too.

4. We have a Congress that has enacted wrong policies at the time of pandemic. It has enacted the Terror Bill without carefully examining the unconstitutional provisions. Certain congressional leaders have been coming out with the most stupid proposals like renaming NAIA. It is budget oriented too.

5. We have a Senate president, who is a case of Rip Van Winkle, who after sleeping for a time, was surprised to find out that the pandemic was still raging, prompting him to exclaim: “Where did we go wrong?” Clueless and shameless were too tame to describe him.

6. We have an education secretary, who has not come out clearly on her concept of distance learning. Until now, Deped is not clear on how to implement distance learning, blended, or whatever.

7. We have a tourism secretary, who stupidly believes that tourism is a way to jumpstart the national economy and that tourists would automatically come to the Philippines despite its projection in international media as one of the worst hit countries.

8. We have a retired general, who, as troubleshooter of the viral outbreak in Metro Cebu, took a chopper ride to determine the extent of the pandemic and fielded battalions of soldiers and police officers and tanks and APCs to combat the invisible enemy.

9. We have a presidential spokesman, who is more of a queef (literally vaginal flatulence but it’s a slang for an obnoxious person). He does not clarify issues, but complicate what should be easily explained.

10. We have an unimaginative transportation secretary, who is busy selling those China-made mini-buses instead of facilitating public transport so that affected people could restart their lives to become productive again.

Santambak silang mga basag ang pula. Dagdagan na lang ninyo.