EIGHT days from now, we as a country will be electing our new set of leaders. On May 9 we will be cramming ourselves into polling precincts across the country while we vote into office municipal councilors all the way to that person who will be in Malacañang for the next six years.
Much like every New Year celebration, which I see as a time for me to evaluate and improve myself, I see elections as a fresh start for the country. It is a chance for us again to look back and assess what happened over the past six years, and then collectively determine our future through ballots.
You all have read and heard how the Philippine economy has improved and is one of the fastest growing in the world. The peso-dollar exchange rate has also been fairly stable over the past five years. Inflation has been benign. Fuel pump prices have gone down. Foreign direct investments have also been on the upswing.
Blah, blah, blah. And so on. And so forth.
Yes, I agree my life and a lot of other Filipino out there have relatively improved. Living conditions have been better as, say, to when it was the year 2000. But for those of us who claim these as true, how many others out would say otherwise?
Yes, I know the Roman Empire was not built in a day. Yes, I know that it takes more than six years to have truly inclusive growth. But how about decent living for starters? How about living life with some dignity? That would be easy enough for local governments, congressman, or Malacañang and whatever government agency is supposed to be doing it.
Look, if what you can only see are the malls, restaurants and coffee shops, then you do not know what is really happening.
Beyond the skyscrapers, in the central business districts and the bright lights of city living, there are a lot of Filipinos out there who are living hand to mouth.
I was in the Smokey Mountain some days back, as I accompanied a television network from Taiwan which did interviews with those living in the area.
I know what you are going to say—I will be using that place as an analogy of the country’s less privileged individuals. And then you will say that it has been a story that has been rehashed over the years to describe poverty in the country.
To some extent that might be correct, but hear me out. Living conditions there have improved. Noel, our guide from the barangay hall, said there are now 30 buildings there that house those living in the Smokey Mountain. And I am convinced that there are a lot of them there that have found work, formally or informally.
But what I found appalling are those who are still living on top of the Smokey Mountain. I think there were several families there, including Winfredo and Conchita Sumaya from Ormoc. Their surname Sumaya (become happy) is the exact opposite of their living conditions.
They live in a 15-square-meter makeshift house made up of plywood, tarpaulins and used fabrics with their four children. They pay a P400 monthly rent to someone they claim lives below the Smokey Mountain. I bet that whoever that person is, he or she does not have a land title to that place in the Smokey Mountain under his or her name.
They have no electricity or have to pay P200 for a jumper. They barely eat meals, let alone have decent food, every day. Winfredo and Conchita only earn at the most P200 daily, if ever they earn at all, from selling cottons for pillows. And to top it all up, Winfredo and one of the kids are sick and need medical attention badly.
If you have heard similar stories in the past, here is what makes it different. They are not long-term residents of Manila. I repeat. They are not what some would term as professional squatters. They came to Manila less than a year ago because, as they told me, living conditions in Ormoc are worst.
A year ago would be 2015. I do believe the government had been harping on its economic gains for some time now, and is telling the world that people’s lives are better.
I have been sloppy in not being able to ask about their family or educational backgrounds. That was my fault. But when they tell me that the only job Winfredo can get in Ormoc was that of a porter and that he cannot do it anymore because of a serious medical condition, then there is something seriously wrong in how that city in Leyte is being run.
To be fair, I know that what is true to a particular is doubtful to the universal, and that I have also not been to Ormoc yet to see how people are actually living there.
But what I do hope is that whoever the mayor, congressman, or other local government officials Ormoc has now should, at least, feel some sense of guilt for what has happened to the Sumayas living in the Smokey Mountain. Oh, and honestly, I just do not want to Google their names right now.
When I asked if they have received any assistance from the Manila government, their quick reply was none. I hope Mayor Joseph Estrada would be able to read this and maybe extend some assistance to this family. After all, Erap Para Sa Mahirap, right?
So come Monday next week, please look beyond the song-and-dance routine of those who are asking for your votes. Make your vote count, and put in office those that can actually change the country for the better.
It is about time that we get a government that is truly by the people, for the people and of the people.
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For comments, suggestions and reactions, I can be reached at raalzona@yahoo.com.