Who’s the least ugly of ‘em all?Editorial
Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is
the least ugly of ‘em all? This is how we feel when we examine the
alternatives offered by the forthcoming presidential election in the
Philippines. Like fish starts to stink after three days, the Philippine
government with their powers, stinks after two terms. The present
administration is a good example. Moreover, another term for PGMA as
Congresswoman could be as damaging, if elected.
More importantly, after eight years at the helm of the Philippine government, PGMA bears heavy responsibility for the crisis in which the Philippines finds itself. Meanwhile, former president Estrada needs to lose for his own sake, let alone for the Philippines. After one term of plunder, he bears a heavy responsibility for the crisis which the Philippines finds itself presently, the global crisis.
The Philippines’ current fiscal deterioration is dramatic, coupled with typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng that flooded the agricultural farmland, and now the drought that hits the same areas are unforgiven. Yet the politicians of the country are spending millions of dollars for the presidential campaigns. Spending millions for a measly presidential salary of 720,000 pesos per year or 4,300,000 pesos for six years term of office. How in the world can a candidate, regardless of financial and economic status, spend several million pesos in his/her campaign? Our math just doesn’t add up. Unless their agenda is to get their invested money in crooked deals, to get their money back, plus some, after getting elected.
Corruption in the legislative branch is bad enough, but it’s worse when it occurs in the executive branch, especially when one party controls both the house and the executive branch. What the country needs is a gathering of presidential politicians and party leaders with a widespread understanding and agreement that a fragile recovery should be of highest priority. In a group of big egos and power players running for political offices, a little humility and a realization that overcoming the first global financial crisis is an unchartered territory. A broad outline of where a winning candidate would wish to, this is acceptable as long as it is benefitting the people and the nation. In current circumstances, a sharper tightening of the structural deficit that the government plays would be expansionary, and let us not be seduced by irrelevant parallels with fiscal tightening of 1994 Asian crisis.
The Philippines has suffered enough...natural calamities, man-made calamities, mostly political corruptions---enough is enough. We need a change...change in mindset, a change in moral, a change in governance, and a change in leadership, and hopefully, the least ugly one, would win the election.
The atmosphere of doom and gloom that pervades the country for years will be replaced by a feeling of satisfaction that a modest recovery will be underway, but there will be uncertainty how to go forward and how mother nature will respond.
At a time of crisis, the Philippines has to choose between a government about which it knows far too much, and the opposition about which it knows too little, but acting they know everything, Neither side is convincing, given not just a scale but also the complexity of our nation’s challenge that lies beyond 2010. But the government always loses elections, and they all deserve to lose!
JOE MAURICIO
More importantly, after eight years at the helm of the Philippine government, PGMA bears heavy responsibility for the crisis in which the Philippines finds itself. Meanwhile, former president Estrada needs to lose for his own sake, let alone for the Philippines. After one term of plunder, he bears a heavy responsibility for the crisis which the Philippines finds itself presently, the global crisis.
The Philippines’ current fiscal deterioration is dramatic, coupled with typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng that flooded the agricultural farmland, and now the drought that hits the same areas are unforgiven. Yet the politicians of the country are spending millions of dollars for the presidential campaigns. Spending millions for a measly presidential salary of 720,000 pesos per year or 4,300,000 pesos for six years term of office. How in the world can a candidate, regardless of financial and economic status, spend several million pesos in his/her campaign? Our math just doesn’t add up. Unless their agenda is to get their invested money in crooked deals, to get their money back, plus some, after getting elected.
Corruption in the legislative branch is bad enough, but it’s worse when it occurs in the executive branch, especially when one party controls both the house and the executive branch. What the country needs is a gathering of presidential politicians and party leaders with a widespread understanding and agreement that a fragile recovery should be of highest priority. In a group of big egos and power players running for political offices, a little humility and a realization that overcoming the first global financial crisis is an unchartered territory. A broad outline of where a winning candidate would wish to, this is acceptable as long as it is benefitting the people and the nation. In current circumstances, a sharper tightening of the structural deficit that the government plays would be expansionary, and let us not be seduced by irrelevant parallels with fiscal tightening of 1994 Asian crisis.
The Philippines has suffered enough...natural calamities, man-made calamities, mostly political corruptions---enough is enough. We need a change...change in mindset, a change in moral, a change in governance, and a change in leadership, and hopefully, the least ugly one, would win the election.
The atmosphere of doom and gloom that pervades the country for years will be replaced by a feeling of satisfaction that a modest recovery will be underway, but there will be uncertainty how to go forward and how mother nature will respond.
At a time of crisis, the Philippines has to choose between a government about which it knows far too much, and the opposition about which it knows too little, but acting they know everything, Neither side is convincing, given not just a scale but also the complexity of our nation’s challenge that lies beyond 2010. But the government always loses elections, and they all deserve to lose!
JOE MAURICIO
