Serious public safety initiatives?

Lately the Arroyo adminis-tration appears to be exerting itself to impact more positively on public opinion. Its choice of public safety as an area for maximized impact is understandable. Other candidate areas like economic well-being and political rein-venting are not up to generating quick results for impressing a relatively cynical public. After all, Philippine economic recovery and all the good things it supposedly brings along are ultimately tied up with the improvement of economies elsewhere — in the US, Europe and Japan among others — and the latter appear to be taking their own sweet time in re-tracking towards sustained recovery and, hopefully, some semblance of their erstwhile economic dynamism.

In any case, even if economic recovery were effected within an improbably short period — say about a couple of years from now – most Filipinos would not benefit enough to radically improve their opinion of the Arroyo administration. Only a small segment of the nation — those who are already the materially best situated – stand to hog the initial benefits of a recovered economy. This reality appears to be more of a law in our economic history than the oft-cited and easily-perverted "law" of supply and demand. (A more civilized formulation of the law governing the differential rates of benefits-distribution in a developing economy enables many economists to feel complacent about most people queuing up, scrambling and often cutting each other’s throats for no more than a trickle of these benefits. Between the early fifties and the late seventies, mainstream Filipino economists preached a gospel of material well-being trickling down to the masses. Their breed has not been as preachy in the last two decades but one should not conclude that they have abjured their faith.)

Political reinvention also holds little promise of turning around public opinion from much skepticism to much firmer belief in the Arroyo administration. One overly romanticizes in thinking that this administration – or, for that matter, any other political group – can significantly restructure the political system between now and 2004 towards meaningful democratic empowerment, greater public accountability and reliably non-oligarchic political operation. For this terrific reorientation to take place, the Arroyo administration will have to moderate the inordinately excessive political influence of those who purportedly watch over the faith and morals of the country and those who stake first claims in the running of the nation’s businesses and overall economy. The Arroyo administration would also have to conscientiously build up the citizenry’s capability for self-governance, a clearly democratic endeavour which imperils the historical preeminence of our local eminencias, dons and – more recently – taipans. It is quite unlikely that any ruling administration – even one publicly pledged to building a strong republic – would dare align itself with a politically undereducated and largely unorganized citizenry and challenge those who have historically made and unmade kings and queens in this unfortunate country.

For an administration whose baptism may be situated in the nebulous spirit of EDSA II, it is only natural that there should be a consuming desire to gain a confidence-building confirmation in the elections of 2004. Economic and political restructuring being problematic propositions as explored earlier, public safety initiatives are left as the most realistic investments the Arroyo administration can make to score well in the coming elections. In less than 20 months, the public must be convinced that this administration is truly capable in discharging the most basic task of governance, that is to say securing the lives and properties of a currently much endangered and understandably quite apprehensive citizenry.

In the past few weeks, the public has been bombarded with official statements pointing to the uncompromisingly determined efforts of the administration to combat criminality – terrorism, kidnapping, robbery, traffic in illegal drugs, illegal gambling, money laundering and counterfeit currency operation among others. In practically all of these criminal activities, no less than the president has to be projected as the very nemesis of those who are a threat to public safety, singularly the icon that must terrify all evildoers in a society where public opinion anticipates evil to lurk in the very streets of one’s own neighborhood and where one’s own home is not viewed as sanctuary enough against the malevolent.

Arresting images accompany the dramatic policy statements. Dead or alive, criminals, suspects – even unfortunate citizens who actually were responsible for exposing criminal activity in some way – get to be photographed with the president. Almost always she has to be with some tough-looking military or police officer or a palpably excitable NBI official as the cameras pan to memorialize the event. Everyone – the president as well as her full entourage – projects the full seriousness of an administration fully committed to its fully un-compromising public safety campaign.

By 2004, Filipinos will have their say as regards the true nature of these dramatic presidential initiatives in the area of public safety. Despite any understandable skepticism, patriotic Filipinos must now give the president and everyone working with her the most liberal benefit of the doubt. Her administration deserves nothing less because past administrations – granted even more trust and support by our long suffering public – definitely failed in securing the citizenry’s lives and property. Should it too fail — an eventuality every Filipino must help prevent — the Arroyo administration must not be provided any legitimate excuse by its constituency, the public.