Nobody Wants to Talk

Some opinion writers decry the absence of meaningful debate in this election. I agree, but let’s see who’s at fault. Which part of society has an obligation to promote public discourse?

We have a very bleak future staring at us if we continue down this course. We are not investing for the future. So far, the radio and television ads are chock full of accomplishments, laws enacted, promises and plans but there is no mention anywhere in these expensive promotional monologues about the crushing debt problem that we cannot afford to ignore any longer. Generations of politicians have come and gone and nobody it seems has any courage to confront this giant problem that is preventing us from providing meaningful educational, health and social services to our poor brethren.

Our leaders have thought of ways to cut services, raise taxes, improve collections, reduce graft but there appears to be profound fear whenever the issue of debt comes up. No serious questions are raised, no thoughtful accounting is demanded. Are our leaders afraid or simply lazy to confront this crisis? We just go on happily borrowing and paying off interest with whatever fresh loans that are strewn our way.

I am convinced that the debt issue is the single most important issue of our time. Because of this mindset, we have become an underproductive nation. We have lost national pride. We have become corrupt. The solution to this riddle is a political one. We will need a leader with a mandate to personally renegotiate the terms of our many loans in order that we may be allowed breathing space with which we can really grow our economy and begin substantially investing in preparing our youth so that they may stand a chance to compete in a bitterly contentious world.

Woes of the Poor

Seems like the harder we try, the less we get noticed. When you are after 43.8 million voters, there is just no way you can make serious inroads without mass media. And these guys know it. 2 staff reporters from 2 different major newspapers admitted to me that their stories about Ang Kapatiran, written after lengthy interviews were killed by their editors. Explains why during the last 3 months, front page fodder would consist of the most inane thoughts and activities of the well-funded candidates. Big media will not give us idealistic greenhorns even a small opening. They are squarely on the side of business as usual.

Voters are hungry for issues and platforms and yet, look at the top 10 candidates considered shoo-ins: 4 refuse to debate at all. They cynically stick to the proven “gold-standard” of collecting votes. We have to scrounge for those precious minutes of free airtime and we have been allowed only a few seconds every week. In this game, you don’t pay, you don’t play.

I take all these obstacles as character-building exercises. Nobody can ever accuse us of getting a free pass.

Cebu Post

I am writing this from an internet cafe in Mandaue City. Let it serve as part of the record of the final days of the 2007 elections. We have been campaigning very hard these past few days and we have met so many strangers who have expressed their support. Whatever happens, Kapatiran will have a greatly-expanded network of like-minded citizens who will need to get organized and pursue our platform with renewed strength.

I don't know what it is with the last 2 minutes but it surely stimulates adrenaline release. The faithful are acting with unbelievable fervor. What keeps me going is the idea that I cannot let all these good people down. I will work even harder. Keep the prayers coming.

Brain Gain

I am an example of what brain gain is all about. Learn, earn, return. I chose to return on my own terms when I felt I was sufficiently prepared to contribute to my country. That I chose to return after training and working hard to establish a successful practice when I could have simply taken it easy and begin enjoying all the fruits of my labor should be proof enough of the seriousness of my intentions.

To those detractors who view my exile in the US as a selfish period in my life, consider those thousands of nights that I was on call, drawing blood from patients with full-blown AIDS, inserting gastroscopes on patients with bleeding ulcers, intubating unconscious patients, removing foreign bodies from stomachs and other orifices. Consider the many racial slights I received, the verbal abuse I had to tolerate. To those who have never left our country, I want you to understand that the billions in remittances we receive from the millions of Filipinos in other countries is blood money. Since sweat and tears are condensates of blood, remember always that while you sit and whine that there are those of us who simply could not accept the reality that we could not maximize our potential here in our country and we were prepared to pay that price with our own blood.

Next time you appreciate that what is paying off all those debt payments come from overseas workers, make sure you have at least a plan or an idea on how to let our country continue to exist when these remittances dry up because it is only a matter of time. We are foolishly not investing on education and health care and nutrition and we have already begun to witness the emergence of a less-competitive generation. One day soon, our services will no longer be necessary.

I will admit that my first reaction to those who tell me to go back to the US is a mean one. But that would only mean that I actually care about your opinion couched in anonymous cowardice.

Itong pagpupunyaging ito ay mahaba at mahirap. Inumpisahan ko na at hindi ako hihinto hanggang mabawi natin ang ating Bayan. Kung sa Estados Unidos hindi nila ako mapa-alis (at mayroong mga nagsabi sa akin nito), dito pa sa aking Bayan.

I must leave for the Prayer rally at the Quezon Circle. Hope to see many of you out there. We leave for Davao and Cebu tomorrow. I am now campaigning 20 hours each day!