Vox populi

Actually, the most significant portion of President Estrada's Ulat sa Bayan was his decision to abort - at least, for the moment, he said - the flight of the Concord. At last, he realized that the issue of Charter-change was one of the principal reasons behind the steep drop in his popularity ratings. Now, President Erap can refocus his attention on more immediate, more urgent concerns. Hopefully, this will enable him, and our nation, to recover lost ground.

Pursuing Concord would have been an exercise in futility. Even though a shepherded constituent assembly would have easily passed Concord by sheer force of pro-Estrada numbers, ramming it down the people's throat in a plebiscite would have been impossible. The number of people against Concord is so vast, so overwhelming, that even mass cheating in the electoral process - if Comelec Chairman Harriet Demetriou allowed it - would not result in victory for the Concord advocates.

And the Concord debate would have become very emotional and very divisive. President Erap would have spent his entire time defending Concord. And he would have had no time left for effective governance. What a sorry mess his administration would have gotten into.

But President Erap listened to the people's voice. The public opinion surveys told him, clearly and categorically, what the people's message was about Concord. And he hearkened to the people's will. That President Erap has his ears tuned in to the sentiments of the public is a big plus, a sign that his administration can still bounce back from its present dismal ratings.

Many concerned Filipinos hope that President Erap will not get riled over the statement of resigned Finance Secretary Edgardo "Ed" Espiritu about the prevalence of graft and corruption in several agencies of the government. Ed Espiritu means well, and his statement is just a friendly and wise advice to President Erap, for whom he worked so hard in the 1998 presidential election, to do something to minimize this malady.

It will be noted that Espiritu played a major role in bringing together the forces of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino and Erap's Nationalist People's Coalition into the presidential campaign. It was the alliance of LDP and NPC that became a pivotal key in giving the needed momentum to the Erap campaign for the presidency. Not only that. Espiritu was also a prime mover in raising the financial resources that pushed candidate Erap's bandwagon.

Espiritu is not only an economist; he is also a political tactician. His resignation from the Cabinet can thus be considered as a major loss to the Estrada administration. It is worth watching whether new Finance Secretary Jose "Titoy" Pardo will be able to fill the shoes left behind by Espiritu as both economist and politician.

Former Bukidnon Governor Ernesto N. Tabios is terribly aggrieved over what his provincemates have termed as "police brutality." And he pleaded with me to write about this incident, so that Philippine National Police headman Panfilo "Ping" Lacson will do something to restrain his "hotheaded" men.

It all started when the people put up a barricade in Wa-o, Lanao del Sur, to protest the continued denudation of the forest surrounding Lake Lanao. Without any warning at all, the protesters were violently dispersed by policemen, who did not even give any warning or failed to negotiate for a voluntary dispersal. "Even the cops with hot cars were given a deadline by General Lacson to surrender the stolen vehicles in their possession," Tabios said.

"Our PNP should have organized a negotiating panel to disperse the barricade peacefully. But no, our PNP organized instead a striking force to brutally disperse the protesters," Tabios stated. "This was unholy and unkind," he added.

Noli Reyes III of Tandang Sora, Quezon City, has a valid observation on how Filipinos are being humiliated in many parts of the world. Our image is that of rowdy contract workers and household help, he said. And Reyes thinks we have only ourselves to blame for this unpleasant image.

"The reason we are treated like shit is that we allow ourselves to be treated as one. Our ancestors must be shrieking in their graves over our tolerance of such humiliation," Reyes said. And then he cites as an instance the way Filipino non-immigrant visa applicants are treated at the US Embassy.

"We pay about P1,800 just to give them the chance to humiliate us. That is probably one day of expenses for a medium-sized family. Then, they give you an appointment when you have to go to the Embassy to be looked at from head to toe. They give you a visa or turn you down, and don't explain anything. So, you can kiss your P1,800 goodbye. This is a rip-off," Reyes said.

Reyes suggests that we reciprocate in kind. "Charge American visa applicants $500, and make them wait for one year. Require them to present an AIDS-free certificate. Ask them to prove that they are not sex perverts and child molesters. Then maybe, the US embassy will put some sense into their capitalist bureaucratic mind and treat us with dignity," he added.

PULSEBEAT: Judith V. Roda, whose mother became physically handicapped because of a car accident, may get handicap stickers from the National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons, telephone number 926-1165... Do you have a dirty mind? If you don't, you will find this thing quite unpleasant. There is a small eatery at Boni Avenue, near EDSA, and the owner named it Cooking Ina Mo. When a small-time entrepreneur across the street saw the eatery's success, he put up a similar fastfood stall. He called his eatery Cooking Ina Mo Rin... Lorie Violat wrote to cite some questionable practices at the United Doctors Medical Center, regarding hospital billings and payments. She experienced the hassles when she and her husband helped settle the account of Alfonso de la Cruz Jr. of Barangay Maronquillo, San Rafael, Bulacan, a childhood friend.

Art A. Borjal's e-mail address: <[email protected]>