For the May 9 elections, the message of the Aquino administration is the continuation of reforms started by the outgoing president. But what the people always seem to get is more incontrovertible proof that this government doesn’t really care about them, even when it is seeking their vote in an upcoming electoral contest.
President Noynoy Aquino and his Liberal Party caused a huge traffic jam last Wednesday around the Monumento Circle in Caloocan City, affecting motorists and commuters for several kilometers on Edsa, MacArthur Highway and Rizal Avenue. Why did Aquino, his candidates Mar Roxas and Leni Robredo and their coterie of LP camp followers choose to hold their political rally in a perennially traffic-clogged intersection of Metro Manila on a weekday evening?
Apparently, they do it because they can. But whether or not Aquino and his party-mates got any votes for the coming election for their candidates because of their latest insensitive political stunt is the big question.
The people I talked to who live around the area or who have to pass by the circle to get to other places north of Metro Manila were definitely not happy about the commandeering of their usual route. They wondered why they were being made to suffer some more, just three months before Aquino steps down from office, in exchange for yellow “ballers” and confetti and copies of a comic book extolling the virtues of Roxas as the unheralded savior of Tacloban City during the onslaught of Super Typhoon “Yolanda.”
Is this any way to court the people’s vote? I don’t know.
I’ve long suspected that this administration actually believes that the great majority of Filipinos will gladly accept any hardship, inconvenience or whatever evidence of incompetence and insensitivity that this government dishes out. And they will do so simply because they are, for the most part, true believers in the daang matuwid.
Sadly, in the past six years, the Aquino administration can rightfully brag that the majority of Filipinos have not taken to the streets to revolt, no matter how stupid, thieving and unfeeling the government acts. And so the government routinely tests the fortitude and patience of the governed, secure in the knowledge that it will be forgiven or ignored, or both, no matter how often it transgresses or how big the offense.
It’s common for critics of the Aquino government to accuse the current leaders of stupidity. But I sometimes wonder if we, the people, are even more stupid than those who lead us.
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Former Finance Secretary Roberto de Ocampo, now chairman of Veterans’ Bank, has come up with a statement on the ongoing Senate investigation of the theft of $81 million in funds of the Bangladesh central bank. De Ocampo has urged much-needed caution in the investigation, because of the probe’s deleterious effects on the entire Philippine banking industry and on the remittances of 12 million Filipinos working abroad.
Here is De Ocampo’s statement:
“The money laundering issue we face started outside and appears to be largely limited to one branch of one bank. It appears to be an isolated case.
“Unfortunately for us, it has become a global spectacle. Unfortunate because as the investigation, aired live on television, drags, unintended consequences are starting to emerge and be felt across the board. If we continue on this path, the gains we have had in the past will be at risk: our credit rating, foreign investments, economic growth and even our international banking and financial operations.
“This early, Philippine banks’ remittance operations abroad experience tighter scrutiny from their partner foreign banks. That is bad news to our roughly 12 million OFWs. And that is only one example of problems we may be creating for ourselves over an isolated situation.
“I understand the need to investigate but I urge sobriety and circumspection lest we unwittingly put national interest at risk. With this in mind, if we must continue to dig deeper, we must spare our institutions and our nation which has shown tremendous growth potential in the past years.
“Our banking system is strong and our bankers noted to be among the best in the region. Our BSP governor has even been recognized more than once as central bank governor of the year. Even the embattled RCBC is among our most reputable banks and has served the public well over many decades.
“I strongly believe both our banking system and RCBC will be able to weather this storm and emerge even stronger with lessons learned from it.
“Towards this, I suggest that subsequent hearings be held behind closed doors since they will yield even more information and thus be more productive. Thus this investigation in aid of legislation could result in a positive outcome namely a strengthening of our AMLA law to include casinos in particular and the preservation of the globally recognized reputation of our banking system.”