Our government doesn’t serve the people: It’s the public be damned

Every citizen of this country – especially with elections just around the corner – must exercise the right to ask this question: Are our "public servants" (as they love to call themselves when hustling for votes) really serving the public?

So this query isn’t misunderstood, or a malicious political spin put on it, I hasten to say that I’m not referring to our President who studied in Georgetown University in Washington DC, graduated from Assumption College with a degree in Bachelor of Science and Commerce, and acquired a Master’s in Economics, and – to top it all – a Ph.D. in economics from the University of the Philippines. However, I am definitely questioning the qualifications and zeal of the people who work under her, or – to more accurately express it – don’t work at all. Those slackers have made our government a hidebound bureaucracy, insensate to the people’s needs, intent on acquiring benefits only for themselves and their kin.

It’s sad to note that we have a remarkably well-educated President, an upright and well-intentioned Vice President, 23 Cabinet Secretaries, 79 Governors, 115 City Mayors, battalions of Municipal Mayors, Barangay Chairmen, and myriads of personnel who are on their government payrolls – all spread out throughout our archipelago: Yet, we cannot seem to get the basic work done.

We define as "basic work" that which answers the basic needs of the people.

All our officials and government employees claim to be working hard, yet – no one can deny it – the Filipino people are dissatisfied with their work. WHY? WHAT is wrong?

For instance, low-income families cannot afford good private hospitals (which are quite expensive) and so turn to government hospitals that obviously do not have enough medical equipment, and cannot seem to be able to accommodate them. Kawawa naman (what a pity) to see these hospitals dilapidated, dingy and dirty! The patient might even get worse when brought to these dilapidated and inadequate medical institutions.

Enough of beautifying our so-called tourist sights and spending millions on them. Our priority must be the welfare of our people in terms of health, transportation and education.

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Talking of transportation, I am not even talking about the traffic jams, but the rolling pieces of junk, the stinking, unsightly buses and undisciplined jeepneys and tricycles allowed to roam around which have not been properly inspected. The leaders (those in power) should try riding to office or going home aboard these public vehicles. They will find the seats crawling with bugs and mites, the smell so suffocating it is a health hazard while unbarred windows or wide-open doors are an invitation for accidents. Shall we wait for something drastic to happen before we act on this, or shouldn’t we take measures to prevent anything from going bad, worst of all – fatally?

What is the Department of Transportation and Communications doing? The Land Transportation Office (LTO)? The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)? The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA)? The policemen and traffic enforcers? There’s so much buck-passing when all these defects converge and create a massive accident, which causes blood, grief, and death. In the end, it’s the President herself who’ll be blamed for all those shortcomings – for they all belong to her Executive Branch.

As US President Harry S. Truman used to post as a sign on his desk in the White House: "The buck stops here."

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Last November 1, a tragic "mishap" occurred in Mandaluyong City. A private passenger jeepney, carrying a family of worshippers home from a religious service, went out of control, and slammed into a thin "wall", a fence really enclosing a construction project right on the edge of EDSA itself. The thin wall, it turned out, marked a huge excavation, 100 meters deep. The jeepney, crashing through the fence, dropped scores of feet and crashed at the bottom, killing the driver and all the passengers – nine persons in all – except one, a small boy. The boy said later that a large bus had come barrelling along, and the jeepney driver had swerved to avoid it. This should have caused the jeepney to be crushed against the wall at the side of the avenue – but, wow, it turned out to be a flimsy fence instead, concealing and marking the unexpectedly deep and dangerous excavation!

Mandaluyong Mayor Benhur Abalos was quick to absolve the contractors and builders who had dug that deep excavation, and enclosed it merely with a thin barrier of a "wall". Abalos declared that the contractors had followed all procedures and therefore should not be held liable for the accident. What? By golly, Mr. Mayor – aren’t YOU yourself who ought to be held liable?

Doesn’t Mandaluyong City have any care for the safety of the public – especially those who drive, or ride vehicles along EDSA, the most congested and traffic-clogged avenue in the entire nation?

What if more vehicles swerved out of control, or crashed against that "wall", unsuspecting there was a very big excavation, a big drop, hidden behind it? Say, an entire bus carrying scores of commuters? Or the President herself, riding in Palace Car Number One? All the bulletproofing in the world would not protect the Chief Executive from being crushed if her vehicle were to crash through such a thin barrier into the hole! Why were not the contractors and builders required to put up a protective barrier so strong that nobody could plummet into that excavation? Or put up warning signs, shouting: "BEWARE – Drive carefully. Behind this wall is a deep digging or excavation"?

(There have reportedly been three accidents in the area.)

The Mandaluyong City Engineers’ Office should have seen to it. Haven’t you noticed? AFTER the tragic "accident", the contractors erected barriers.

It’s not just a case proving the old adage, "a stitch in time, saves nine." It’s the same old story. We don’t prevent harm to the public; our officials hasten to trot out alibis and say, "it’s-not-our fault", when neglect invites disaster and even death. Everybody does a Pontius Pilate, piously hand-washing, and crying out, "It’s not my fault. I won’t accept the blame. I won’t resign. I am the greatest!"

Our people are too patient. Even when our officials demonstrate they don’t care for us, they don’t descend on City or Municipal Hall in an angry mob, calling for retribution. But who knows? Some day, unless our politicians, officials, and bureaucracy wake up, an exploited, scoffed at, and long-suffering people may get fed up. The dam might burst. When? Ah, that is the question.

The taxpayers’ money is clearly not being used to benefit the taxpayers. It is being frittered away for officials to enrich themselves, acquire cars, perks, go on junkets.

Who will ever put a stop to this corruption? God, please help us! Election is just around the corner and here we go again! Many of my friends and family members have not registered to vote. Why? They were not informed. Sure, they may have missed the newspaper ad that announces the dates and time schedule of registration but will it end there? There are so many advertisements on the television about government services pretending to be successful, so why not use that money instead to announce important matters that we the public need to know? Who controls these advertisements? Shouldn’t someone prioritize what needs to be shown?

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And now, FPJ may run although he has not announced it yet! Please, FPJ, I have deep respect for you as an ACTOR but before you decide to run please think of the Filipino people and the country. We need a leader who can help solve the problems of the country. We need a leader who has a good educational background with the right experiences in life to tackle the issues of our land. If you run, are you truthfully prepared to solve the problem of corruption? If you run, do you have a plan to improve our economy? If you run, what will you do with the squatters? If you run and become the president, will you have your own vision or will you follow the vision and ideas of others (of those who will be your advisers)?

If you are ready and will help our country go forward, then go for it!

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I have not even mentioned the Senate, the House of Representatives and the Supreme Court members who are all having a circus act of their own kind. The Supreme Court is a clear example of how government agencies work. If you watch the news, you will see Supreme Court personnel who have exposed the environment in which they work in. Chief Justice Davide may be a good person. He may not have committed any mistake or corruption but with what was shown on the TV screen of how he neglected the working areas of the people under him clearly shows the type of leader he is. So, with this is mind, I would like to call the attention of our leaders to start cleaning your backyard. Please do it yourself – you have to start the work and get it done.

Anyway, if we go further down the line, there are a lot of government employees within these agencies or departments – too many to count, too many to supervise, too many that the national budget alone is drained by their salaries. In fact, many offices have too many workers that they tend to be spoiled and just rot in the offices abusing the proper decorum expected of a public servant.

What will we do? How do we solve this problem? If we have leaders who act like "headless chickens" then, the problem will persist. But if we have leaders who have courage, a brain and a heart (just like the characters in The Wizard of Oz), I think our country will have a future!

In that old movie, Judy Garland sang that "somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds sing." We’re still looking for that rainbow in this disappointed land.