Shattered Hope By Silverio F. Aquino
>
> I AM now 75. I have a wife and six children and two truckloads of
> grandchildren, but my family has been breaking up because of the
>failures
> of our government. All this makes my blood pressure shoot up. I
think
>many
> senior citizens are in the same situation.
>
> I know whereof I speak because I have lived through the
administrations
>of
> Quezon, Osmena, Roxas, Quirino, Magsaysay, Garcia and Macapagal,
and
>life
> under them was good. I was a boy during Quezon's time and I know
little
>of
> Osmeña's rule, but I know they were good and dedicated leaders.
During
>the
> administrations of Roxas through Macapagal, I got an education, got
> married, had children and educated them in turn. The government
under
>them
> was also good.
>
> Then came Marcos. At first the people responded well to his
> exhortation: "Sa ikauunlad ng bayan, disiplina ang kailangan (For
the
> nation to progress, discipline is needed)." But he turned out to be
a
> dictator. He killed or imprisoned his political enemies, stole
money in
>the
> billions of pesos, and repressed the people's freedoms.
>
> One day my youngest daughter, who had just finished her course at
the
> University of the Philippines announced, "My future has been ruined
by
> Marcos. I want to leave."
>
> I was dumbfounded, but I knew she was right. She went abroad.
>
> Then my eldest son, an electrical engineer, followed her. I
terribly
>missed
> them, and I blamed the government for taking away their hope for a
>bright
> future in their own country.
>
> Upon the petition of my eldest son, now a citizen of another
country, my
> wife and I were granted immigrant visas so we could live in that
>country. I
> did not go, but my wife went to live with my children there, so now
we
>only
> visit each other. She, too, was disillusioned with our leaders. Her
>leaving
> was to me the unkindest cut of all.
>
> Marcos was thrown out of power, and was succeeded by the widow of
his
> foremost victim and later by a former army general. But my four
children
> remained skeptical about the future.
>
> Tragedy struck when a movie actor was elected president. Then he
was
> charged with plunder and detained without bail.
>
> I watched what my four remaining children would do. True enough,
two of
> them soon gave up and left I could not believe they would go, since
they
> had studied in good universities, they had decent houses, drove
cars and
> lived in relative comfort. But they left because they saw no hope
here
> especially for their own children.
>
> Now I have only two children left with me. They are also jumping
ship
> because they do not see any good reason for staying. Sadly I know
they
>are
> just waiting for me to go to my final destination, and they may
have
>only a
> few years to wait.
>
> A recent survey found that about 20 percent of Filipinos want to
leave
>the
> country. Many families really want to go abroad for good. One
Inquirer
> columnist said it all for them when he wrote, "For the first time
in my
> life last week, I really felt that this country has become
hopeless."
>
> Like my four children who have gone, many people are convinced this
>country
> is hopeless and wish they had the opportunity to move elsewhere
with
>their
> families.
>
> Countless Filipinos have chosen another way to leave, which is by
>finding
> work abroad. If they could, they would uproot their families. But
they
>are
> forced to leave behind their spouses, children and parents in order
to
>take
> foreign jobs, mostly menial and below their level of education, and
they
> and their loved ones must suffer the pains of separation and
> loneliness. While the government is happy for the millions of
dollars
>that
> they send home to prop up the economy, it does nothing to address
the
> reason why, like the emigrants, these overseas Filipino workers
have to
>go
> abroad in the first place.
>
> There is also the big brain drain that the government does not seem
to
>care
> about. Educated and talented Filipinos go to live abroad and apply
their
> expertise and knowledge to their foreign jobs. The exodus of
doctors,
> nurses, engineers and technicians goes unabated, but the government
is
>not
> bothered by this waste of talent.
>
> Why do Filipinos go away? First of all, there is so much corruption
> everywhere in the government. A world opinion survey has revealed
that
>our
> country is the third most corrupt in Asia and the 11th most corrupt
in
>the
> world.
>
> There is also too much politics. The finance secretary has said
that
> politics is the cause of our dire economic problems.
>
> But who is engaged in too much politics? Why, the politicians, of
> course. There are too many of them in and outside Congress. They
are
> concerned only about their personal ambitions and their expensive
>junkets
> and their abuse of their pork barrel and other perks. Gone are the
days
>of
> Recto, Laurel, Diokno, Osias and House Speakers Cornelio Villareal
and
> Eugenio Perez, of Ramon Magsaysay, and of justices like Concepcion,
>Moran,
> and Avanceña.
>
> Many politicians give speeches about poverty, joblessness, crime
and
>other
> ills, but do very little, if at all, to address these problems.
Instead,
> they resort to what is expedient or good for themselves. Look at
the
> shameless speed with which congressmen have railroaded the
impeachment
> charges against the Chief Justice and how some senators are
thirsting
>for
> the publicity they will get as judges during
>
> the impeachment. Look also at how fast many politicians have risen
to
> defend the Chief Justice without ascertaining that he is really
innocent
>in
> his handling of the Judiciary Development Fund amounting to
billions of
>pesos.
>
> The people are now cynical of this government. Even Filipinos
abroad
>share
> this cynicism, as shown by the fact that only one out of every 100
of
>them
> has bothered to register under the new Absentee Voting Law. Like my
wife
> and children abroad, they do not trust the government enough to
>participate
> by voting. The common lament is, why vote when the same kind of
>so-called
> leaders will get elected anyway, by hook or by crook?
>
> Now, I am horrified to learn that another movie actor, who has
>reportedly
> not finished high school, will be elected president in 2004.
>
> When my last two remaining children leave because this country is
>hopeless,
> my family would be completely shattered and, if I would still be
alive,
>my
> hope in the government will also be completely lost. This would be
>tragic
> for me. I have seen better governance from the likes of Laurel,
Recto,
> and Magsaysay, and I will never see the light of hope in this
hopeless
> country.
>
> Silverio F. Aquino, 75, is a lawyer.
>
>
>
> IF YOU TOO FEEL A SENSE OF HOPELESSNESS ABOUT OUR COUNTRY BECAUSE
OF THE
> LIKELIHOOD OF ANOTHER MOVIE ACTOR/HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT BECOMING
PRESIDENT
>OF
> THE PHILIPPINES IN 2004, PLS PASS THIS ON AS A FORM OF ELECTRONIC
>PROTEST!!
>
>
>
> NO TO FPJ!!!! pls.
>
> FILIPINOS.... THINK!!!!!!!!!