Do We Filipinos Really love Our freedom So Much?

"Some ppl saying life ws better during the Marcos dictatorship. Sige, lumipat kayo sa North Korea*. Dont like freedom? Get the f*** out of RP". This was a tweet from Pepe Diokno this morning. He is the grandson of the nationalist senator and lawyer Jose W. Diokno.

I responded on his tweeter but I feel that the 180 characters, or even the 360 supposed limit on this blog, is not enough to communicate how I feel and what I want to say. Hence, i wrote this blog entry.

I was born post-martial law hence I wasn't able to experience first hand how it was like during the hey days of the Marcos dictatorship. I was also too young, fortunately or unfortunately, to experience the 1986 People Power.

I was indeed to young to experience the yellow fever. I am, however, old enough to appreciate what it was like to traverse NLEX without paying such a high toll fee. I was also old enough to still see the Marcos bust in the Marcos highway, one which Marcos built when Kennon road was becoming unreliable. I was also old enough (at preschool) to see unbranded condoms being distributed to families in accordance with Marcos' population control program. I was also old enough to remember that as a kid I use to throw tantrums almost everyday because I can't watch TV and it's soo hot because yet again we have a 9-5 power outage. I was also old enough to remember the dashing Gringo Honasan attempting several coups. I was old enough...maybe a little too old.

The comment of Pepe Diokno that those who lament that life was better during the Marcos dictatorship better move to North Korea is uncalled for and without any basis whatsoever. What is wrong with wanting a better life? Should being free be equated to being poor? The sad state of people power, and the fact that we have to clarify which people power sequel it is, shows that as freedom fighters we haven't really changed nor achieved much.

We say, we as the Filipino people would rather be poor rather than live under a dictatorship. Do we really? Isn't it already telling that the sheer number of people who migrate, work, and aspire to work in middle east - with Saudi Arabia still being the top destination - countries and destinations who are as restrictive as Singapore already answers that question. It is no longer theoretical, Filipinos would rather give up a little (if not a lot!) of their freedom in order to have a better life. We hail them as the new breed of heroes, but has it not occurred to us that in the process of buoying up the economy with their remittances they too have sacrificed their freedom!

My professor in Private International Law Dean Merlin Magallona, former Dean of the UP College of Law and USec.of the DFA, once said to us in class, we say we don't want to give up our freedom but we only have to look at the number of our OFWs to say that we already have.

Close to a hundred thousand people marched to the streets during Edsa 1 whereas in 2008 1.2 million Filipinos, based on POEA statistics, left the country. Yes, we already have and we even sought - aspire to, hope, dream - of giving it up...over and over again.

*Go on and move to South Korea.

The Curious Case of Erap Para sa Mahirap

I have always been curious about who taxi drivers will be voting for, and being the curious former statistics obsessed student that I was I always make it a point to ask drivers who they will vote for. In about two months that I have done this, the clear answer is Joseph Estrada a.k.a ERAP.

It has always been common talk with some of my friends that to reelect Erap would just prove to the International Community that we never learn from our mistakes. To pardon a 73 year old convicted plunderer was probably compassionate or humanitarian, to let him run again for the same position we rid him off would probably count as fair, after all he does not possess any of the disqualifications for running, by Comelec Division 2 standards at least, but to re-elect him AGAIN for the same position is unacceptable, it is LUNACY to the most exponential level!
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As a disgruntled voter who is rooting and voting for an unpopular but very capable Presidentiable, I have reached a point where I believe wholeheartedly and without a single ounce of skepticism that we are, or maybe have become, a country of stupid voters. An hour ago, I was thinking that IF ONLY ours is a population of thinking voters then there is probably still hope. Still hope that the poor will not always be poor, the oligarchs won't always control the government, and we the hopeful generation would one day not contemplate - hope, wish, pray, or die for - a chance to go and work abroad and leave the country for good. It seems though that I am living in a different dreamland with the white rabbit never appearing to say 'it's time, it's time!'.

If only ours is indeed a population of thinking voters. Wishful thinking, indeed. The educated, the elitist, the thinkers always blame the masses for electing incompetents like movie stars, singers, etc. and I am one of them. I admit to being snobbish and downright dismissive of candidates who lure and wow the masses with all the posters, promises, entertainment, and all that she-bang without offering a concrete platform. The strategist in me, however; admit that the only way to win an election is to sway the vote of the masses. After all, we are the only country in Southeast Asia where the absolute number of poor people has increased since 1990. This is according to an ADB report.

Resentful as I was for the irrational choices that the masses have for electing a President, I would have to admit that probably in their perspective too they were making the right choice. To better understand their perspective, and the masses seemingly fanatic and unconditional support for Erap I had one pro-Erap taxi driver convince me to vote for Erap. His reasoning was very simple, he didn't have all the statistical reports etc, and he never denied that Erap didn't steal his only argument is that Erap has genuine concern for the poor. Never mind that that concern didn't seem to be manifest in a concrete platform to actually alleviate poverty. Never mind that Erap's pro-poor program seemed to be concerned only with giving them 'food for the day etc.' he is as adamant as any hardcore supporter that Erap is pro-poor. If you think about it, what difference is an Erap supporter to a Noynoy one -- the other one promises that hindi ako magnanakaw (i will not steal) while the other promises (not directly of course!haha) that he will only steal jueteng money.

Rational is in the perception of the voter. The manong was unsuccessful in convincing me to vote for Erap, but one thing is for sure, i'd rather have an irrational - in my perspective- popular mandate for Erap than another 'people power' elected candidate.

Note: i am going beyond 360 today, because this is just too complicated to be contained in 360 characters.