Have we really fathomed why we conducted the People Power Movement in the 80s? It's hard to imagine that after these decades, we are still not in the best of health, especially economically for our many, many kababayan. People would rather walk than ride a jeepney, they eat at tusuktusuk snacking kariton rather than at restaurants, they would rather watch movies on their celfones than read newspapers or listen to the radio news. Apathetic, that is what or rather how I view our kababayan. They may know the names of our officials, but with regard to the nitty-gritty of knowing what their politics are is lost in the air.
Maybe we should examine what lessons we have gained from the conduct of martial law in our country.
1. Greed became blurred as a sin. It looked normal for Marcos and his cohorts to amass millions of property, and even export or hide them abroad, In fact, it even looked as if, to have wealth abroad was the penultimate achievement economically.
Hence, even today, greed is everywhere -- we see it in the way small sarisari stores charge so much for a packet of milk -- its price ranges from 12 to 13 and up to 15 on the sidewalk. We see it in the way the jeepney drivers and their conductors they don't give exact change, and would even toss and turn the passengers with their reckless driving once the change is mentioned as lacking or kulang.
We see that in these men who would overtake the elderly at public escalators, or are they being programmed to do it when I am around?
Greed is seen among hospitals that try to keep patients confined even though they could already go home simply because they need greater income. We have not really researched on this but I think researchers and organizations should examine if the hospital deaths are valid or induced by over-medication, and the like.
There is also such a thing as political greed. When the guards jam the ATM that I am using so that it would not release funds, or would mark my transaction as "prohibited" is that not a form of political greed - as someone up there has told them to conduct their nefarious ways?
Political greed was also apparent when the Commission on Elections labeled candidates who were stopped from running, told to defend themselves, but before labeling them as "nuisance candidates." Yes, that is a form of political greed and am I very happy to say that I gloat over the dismissal of the chairman who did not see anything wrong in that procedure at all.
But the worst greed is when the government funds are not being distributed for use of the people, even as loans. Stringent requirements are put up -- like those aged 60 and above are eased out as deserving of being borrowers. In the last administration of the son of Cory, so much funds were kept in the treasury coffers. Only a special few were able to enjoy borrowing.
I tried several times to get funding for my artistic projects at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the National Commission on Cultural and the Arts and yet I did not get a single centavo, except for one time when I had a show at the NPDC sponsored Paco Park presents. (National Parks Development Committee). But then the money was not even enough for me to pay myself for performing. I shelled out the meager funds of P5,000 to the artists, a singer., dance interpreter, and others.
Meager funds for artistic projects that require creative thinking and execution.
2. Elitism - or the uplifting of certain individuals and groups as more privileged than others. Imelda really sharpened our sense of elitism. She moved and acted like a queen who could not be questioned, whose convoluted ideas of governance were silently absorbed by the public.
The ML brought in the idea that Marcos and his family were the elite, the special few who had deserved to be treated with "respect' no matter if they were undeserving.
Until now, we still have elitism. Our officials enjoy first class transportation. But look at the transport of the people on the barangay level - extremely unattainable or terribly expensive. Imagine just going out of our barangay which is less than 3 minutes, I would be shelling out P20 already, which could buy me a banana cake and a rootbeer, atctually.
Who are enjoying good transport? The barangay tanod jeepney passed by and I hailed it to hitch a ride up to a corner where I could take a jeepney. But it refused to stop. Several times I had done that - why is that jeepney used as if it were a vehicle only for the barangay use? I was not even going to ask to be taken to my destination, but just that point where I could take public transport.
Another thing, our garbage is not being collected regularly. The MMDA hardly passes by our street. And so the waste stays in the streets for a long, long time. Does the MMDA care? Not at all. In fact, it makes sure that when I pass by through the big avenues, the huge trucks would be passing by also, scattering the waste fumes of their haul.
3. During ML, Christianity had two faces - one for the governing rulers and the other for the poor. I saw priests holding masses for Marcos and his family seated at special podiums while the hakot public of government workers and employees stayed on the lower grounds.
4. PEOPLE POWER, GENUINE AND FAKE
When Ninoy died, peaceful rallies became the norm for asking for social change. I guess Cory could not be an NPA in the mountains, and so she made use of the streets of MetroManila to launch her campaign to make Marcos move out and democratic rights be restored. Hence People Power was born then.
But then that movement was distorted when Erap was dislodged unceremoniously. And so the lesson we learn here is that the People Power Movement could be turned upside down to make anyone leader of the country. Fake movement happened then which brought about a fake presidency, too.
Do we really recognize what situations merit having a movement about? The only one I can think of now it to campaign for abolition of the EPIRA law and restore regulation of the prices of fuel. But the jeepney associations seem to be mum about this: either their leaders have been bribed or are ignorant about the process to abolish the law.
5. We need to stop armed struggle. But until now, it exists. Luckily the armed soldiers were able to boot out the terrorists from Marawi. Otherwise we would have been drawn to also arm ourselves to fight them.
Yet the armed struggle of the NPA looks uncalled for; I wish that the NPA would work with the AFP to fight in those places where environmental degradation is being committed by greedy mining corporations. Using armed struggle regularly is rather terrifying. I dont feel like moving about too much in our country because of that.
How do we make armed struggle a thing of the past? The composition of the Peace group is not really remarkable. I don't know how they conduct their discussions. But I think that those discussions should be filmed, shown to the public as they go meticulously into every item where peace should reign Only in this manner can we extract a commitment to really fulfill the demands of a peaceful country when we could see the faces of the leaders of dissident groups, we could see how they speak and explain their side; we could then decide if they are worthwhile having as leaders to show us the way to a future that should be beneficial to the majority of the people.
I could write and write about the many ills that have been carried over from the martial law days to the present. But what is the purpose? For us to be guarded about our actions, to see if we are improving, if we are working our way to a really peaceful, humanistic society.
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