January 22, 2025 l Business Mirror
“In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of.
In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.”—Confucius, c.500 B.C.
A story was once shared.
When God created the world, He specifically considered the Philippines very special. He made it a tropical country, endowed it with rich natural resources, planted its history with various interventions from the different rulers of the world, provided its people with good intellect and features, and gave the people free will.
After several centuries and turn-over of presidents, beset with a lot of crises and problems, the Filipinos prayed so hard and asked God for good government. In his usual gentle manner, God replied, “You are so special that I provided you with all the things you need. I am sorry but governance is the only thing you have to do!”
I remember in one of my past trips, I was seated beside a bureaucrat from Taipei. He relayed to me that in the sixties, he made his first trip to the Philippines as their government’s delegate to an international meeting. He was amazed at our development then.
He thought the organizers of the meeting extremely valued his presence that they arranged for glass doors to open and close as soon as he approached the doors. He had his first paper napkin from Philippine Airlines and embarrassingly asked for some more from the stewardess so that he could share them with his colleagues back home. The Filipinos could manage English very well and could be at par with the world’s top businessmen. The Philippines seemed to have everything then.
Now, he said that his country has more than automatic glass doors and paper napkins. I died a little when he compared our development to Taiwan’s, a territory that once looked up to the Philippines.
The reality now: we have wealth yet it is with a few and poverty has increased.
The mid-term election is forthcoming. As early as the last two months of 2024, we have seen lots of billboards/tarpaulins where likely candidates were featured and soon in accordance with set rules, those billboards/tarpaulins should be taken down only to be replaced by permissible campaign materials.
Interviews in various media outlets are becoming regular occurrences featuring aspirants for different positions—local government units and the legislature. A friend said, the biggest circus is on. All will be entertained and money will change hands from those rooting for candidates to the electorate. Technology has offered alternative modalities of transmission translating to minimum physical handling.
The political exercise will definitely cause “sharing of wealth” that will be recovered in some other ways by those who dispense them with immeasurable returns. And the saga continues.
One can only wish that our people be mindful of what is important for our country: to have good governance. The acceptance of pittance in exchange for the privilege to choose who will govern us translates to betraying our motherland and perpetuating the “trapo.”
***The views she expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the BusinessMirror or FINEX. For comments, email clmanabat@gmail.com. Photo is from Pinterest.