Consumers Domain
2006, another disappointing year
"Don't throw away the old bucket until you know whether the new one holds water."
-- a proverb
Another disappointing year for the Filipinos have past. It was another year of worsening economic problems for the Filipino workers and their families. Another year that the ordinary Filipino put up with pigsty elite politics that dwelt more on ulterior motives, private interests and greed for power than the real needs of the population.
In the economic sphere, contrary to the always-rosy pictures presented by the government, more Filipinos experience hunger in 2006. While the prices of goods, public utilities like power and water and other services continue to soar, wages remain very low.
Increases in the minimum wage are loose change compared to the increases in the cost of living. Whatever meager upward adjustment in the minimum wage cannot even compensate for inflation that shrinks the real value of the Philippine peso.
While the government led by Gloria Arroyo hallucinated on an Enchanted Kingdom, the marginalized Filipino workers and rural farmers continue to be neglected by the same government. Enchanting is how Arroyo continue to deceive the Filipinos by declaring our economy is on the verge of take-off while the reality is that more and more Filipinos are living in poverty.
Even our professionals -- physicians, teachers, etc -- could not manage to satisfy their families' needs working in the country and would rather find greener pastures in Canada, Europe or the USA.
What makes matters worse is that the government fails to invest its resources to much needed social and economic services. More than 50% of the country's resources only went to servicing of debt, a big portion of it originated from fraudulent loan transactions that even date back to Marcos years.
In the political sphere, Filipinos are continuously being marginalized too. Gloria Arroyo and her ilk never blinked in implementing Marcosian policies that curtail basic civil liberties. Proclamation 1017, the calibrated preemptive response (CPR) and other measures were utilized to silence dissent and threaten opposition.
Legitimate protest actions and people's exercise of freedom of speech and assembly were considered by the government as sedition or rebellion. Political activists, labeled by the Arroyo government as "terrorist" or "leftist "or "enemy of the state" continue to be felled by motorcycle riding gunmen.
The media, a bastion of democracy and free speech, was even a victim of this administration's efforts to silence critiques and opponents.
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Just the same, this column would like to wish for a prosperous new year to all Filipinos (except the greedy trapos led by Gloria Arroyo, De Venecia and Raul Gonzalez Sr). The year 2007 needs more of our vigilance as citizens. May our collective strength grow this year as we continue to aspire for a better society.
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