To turn the tide

Political events are turning, twirling, surfacing and swirling at such a dizzying pace that hardly anyone knows what the final ending will be. Will the Estrada administration survive the onslaught from all fronts? Will the siege against the ruling powers come to a temporary end? Will the stormy, troubled waters calm down? As of now, there is no way to know the answers to these questions.

It is incredible how the Estrada administration is inflicting its own wounds on itself. Hardly a day passes by without a scar marring the face of the administration. How the people in the corridors of power, with such awesome resources at their command, are allowing the self-flagellation to go on, without letup, is really hard to comprehend.

The unpleasant front page stories and photographs, the ugly coffeeshop talk, the growing Erap jokes that are no longer funny, the shocking apathy of the government bureaucrats, the fading laughter of the masa -- these are telltale signs that something is wrong somewhere, and that remedial measures must be undertaken immediately, if it is not yet too late.

Many of today's political events are turning out to be a replay of the happenings during the dying years of the Marcos regime. Take a look at the so-called "Silent Protest" movement, with its symbol of !. The pro-Estrada bloc's answer to ! was a countersign, with the words "Kay Erap Pa Rin." Didn't the brains behind the counter-offensive realize that the slogan -- "Kay Erap Pa Rin" -- is reminiscent of a similar-sounding slogan during the Marcos years?

Can the administration people turn the tide? Can they hack it? As of now, there are indications that the oppositionists are winning the psychological warfare against the Estrada administration. And as political events continue to turn, twirl, and swirl, concerned citizens are keeping their fingers crossed that the lashing winds will not turn into a hurricane.

There are some government agencies that have not yet realized the importance of non-government organizations (NGOs) in the task of nation-building, especially in the implementation of socially-oriented projects. As a result, these government entities, enmeshed in a mindset that belongs to medieval times, refuse to work in tandem with these NGOs or even take steps to stymie these NGOs from attaining their objectives.

Let me cite an NGO, which I helped organize less than ten years ago: the IMPACT Foundation Philippines (IFP). With its main thrust of disability prevention, the IFP has, during the past ten years, undertaken these projects, in support of the government:

* Distributed 84,000 Vitamin A capsules among children aged 1 to 4 in selected municipalities

* Supplemented iodized oil to 171,665 schoolchildren in Abra, Benguet and Mt. Province

* Tested iodized water supplementation for 435 schoolchildren in Sto. Tomas, Batangas

* Supported two salt iodization plants in the Cordillera Autonomous Region

* Provided a vehicle to LGUs for the distribution of iodized salt

* Supported and financed a "Wheat Flour Fortification with Vitamin A Program" among flour millers

* Implemented a program to screen, treat and prevent Otitis Media among Grade 1 pupils in Muntinlupa's elementary schools

* Trained 608 teachers on the assessment of health and nutrition disorders among school children

* Provided a "Health Bus System" that waged an education campaign on health and nutrition

* Implemented a "Better Hearing Project" to assess the hearing-impairment problems of 3,592 schoolchildren in Pasig City

* Developed a strategy for economical mass surgery of indigent cataract patients

* Established an Ear Surgery Unit at the Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center

IMPACT Foundation Philippines raised the money to implement the projects I have just cited. And the money was raised through the help of IMPACT International, a United Nations-accredited body that was founded by the late Sir John Wilson of Great Britain. Now, what government agency would hesitate to work in partnership with IFP?

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