Lack of political will and maturity of the Filipino people -- this, I said, is one of the factors contributing to the country's sad state.
The Philippines is a young nation. After being subjected to centuries of colonial rule, and after finally being handed the power of the ballot, a greater mass of the people still do not realize that they possess power to choose the best and most qualified leaders for their country. Most still do not realize that political power rests in them, and that sovereignty resides in them. Many are still exploited, or allow themselves to be exploited by the rich and the elite.
To me, the reasons for this are poverty, apathy, and lack of education.
The Philippines is a poor nation. To a large extent, she is also an uneducated nation. Although she ranks among the highest (perhaps second to the United States) in terms of citizens going to college, and although a big chunk of the national budget (of what remains after allocating a huge portion to debt servicing) is earmarked for education, the general stituation is still far from ideal. It is, in fact, problematic. Fr. Arcilla, SJ (in his "Introduction to Philippine History) notes that "about 57% of Grade One pupils do not reach Grade Five. This means that more than one half of the Filipino school children finish their schooling when they are ten years old."
The slow growth of the people's maturity can also be traced to the kind of political campaign the candidates employ. During an electoral campaign, candidates do not talk much about the issues. They go around with movie stars and entertainers in tow, and wow their audience with their paid celebrities' songs and dance. In the end, the people miss the opportunity to be informed about the burning issues of the day. The people miss the opportunity to vote based on platform of government. The people are thus driven to vote based on personalities and other shallow reasons. It is not uncommon for Filipinos to throw their support to movie personalities and basketball stars, despite these candidates' lack of qualification for the job. But the people could not care less. They do not know the difference between voting for a President and voting for the next Philippine Idol. They should know the difference between impeaching a President and evicting a housemate in Pinoy Big Brother.
In fine, increasing social awareness through education and social re-orientation is the key. This must be done, and this must be done now.
quidnunc posted on Aug 27, 2006
| views: 131
Comments
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labyrinth said on Aug 27, 2006....
This is informative. I hope the Philippines will continue to progress as a country.
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quidnunc said on Aug 27, 2006....
Despite the latest political turmoil (recent attempt to impeach the President), the business community has been very happy with the steady growth of the Philippine economy for the past several months. Yes, I do hope that the country will continue with its positive growth.
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Weird_World said on Aug 27, 2006....
When we get "power of the ballot", then also we are as helpless as we were when we were not independent...
Name a country which is developed and prosperous, where the leaders choose by power of the ballot are also not liars, as the ones we have in our own countries...
We choose one a**hole after another, living in the hope that this one will be better than the previous one...
Social awareness, education and social re-orientation wont change anything, as long we have the power of the ballot, we will be puppets in the hands of the cunning men wo we choose by the ballot...
As long as honesty is dead, the wings will remain broken...
Adious
S
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quidnunc said on Aug 27, 2006....
WW: an educated electorate won't easily be deceived by scurrilous politicians. once voters start to choose leaders based on platform of government, the country will certainly have a better chance. you do not fall to the cunning ways of our politicians. this is because you "think" before you vote. imagine how it would be if the greater mass becomes thinking voters like you.
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sigroid75 said on Aug 28, 2006....
im not sure if you will agree with me on this,
quid, because it is not quantifiable...but in the
bible, God promised that if we as a nation repent
and turn back to Him, He will forgive our sins and
heal our land. not too many people believe this
though...and certainly not our powerhungry
officials...
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totally_cd said on Sep 19, 2006....
because, quid, in the final analysis, the military is getting the biggest share, not education. they just hide these allocations(for the military) somewhere in the budget and in the end the education and social services have the lowest share.
look at how our president tackled the lack of classroom problem. instead of 40 students per room, she said it should be 100 students per room so no shortage! she is so naive (i'd like to use the word stupid!) in thinking that these classes (40 per room) are one-session per day classes. ever since, public school classes have two shifts (for elementary) and 3 shifts for high school!
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quidnunc said on Sep 20, 2006....
the government seems to have its priorities wrong, cd... it's rather sad.
Comment on "The Broken Wings: My Country's Frozen Flight to Progress (Part III)"
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