The bright side

Every year this is the most difficult piece to write: the feel-good column, the one that looks on the bright side, that sees a glass half-full.

Yesterday Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales urged the press to present a more positive outlook in 2006.

Heeding that call isn’t as simple as it sounds for cynical journalists working in a culture full of spite. It also isn’t as simple as it sounds in an industry that knows from experience that bad news sells.

And it isn’t as simple in a country where suffering is a way of life for millions, and where journalists have learned that if something smells fishy, the nose is rarely wrong; the rot is deep in Philippine society.

Being the bearer of good news was made more difficult this year, when political turbulence deepened national divisions. Many times this year, Filipinos were left with unpalatable choices that boiled down to picking the lesser evil.

Those types of choices are bound to persist in the coming year, making it a challenge to keep a positive outlook.

Yet it’s the season of hope, so let’s look back at a year of good news, without the usual accompanying criticism.

* * *

Two events prompted parades in the streets of Metro Manila.

For the first time, the country ranked Number One in the Southeast Asian Games. Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, also fighting for political survival, briefly became a sore loser but did not raise any complaints about the Games to President Arroyo during the annual leaders’ summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Kuala Lumpur.

The Philippine team’s first-ever SEAG victory raised hopes that the country could finally bag a gold medal at the next Olympic Games, to be held in Beijing in 2008.

On the beauty front, Precious Lara Quigaman bagged the Miss International crown, breaking a long drought in a country that continues to be fascinated by beauty contests.

Meanwhile, on another front, Manny Pacquiao received a warm homecoming after winning another boxing bout.

* * *

President Arroyo is reportedly happy that despite political turmoil throughout the year, the economy still managed to post modest gains.

Critics will sneer, but some indicators bear her out. The Philippine peso, buoyed by record high remittances from Filipinos working overseas, is the year’s best performer in the region.

Inflation remains at single digit despite soaring fuel prices and the imposition of the expanded value-added tax. The passage of the EVAT law, a bitter pill for consumers, must be ranked with the positive developments in 2006.

The economy is on track for modest growth, although the rate is still not enough to make a difference in the lives of a booming population.

* * *

As coup rumors persisted in the worst political crisis to hit the country since 2001, the Filipino soldier opted to remain in the barracks.

Perhaps the self-styled messiahs in the military were deterred by the refusal of the people to take another short cut to regime change, despite unresolved accusations of lying, cheating and stealing. The failure of agitators to mobilize troops for yet another mutiny or coup attempt raised hopes that the Armed Forces of the Philippines is finally on an inexorable path to professionalism.

The anti-corruption campaign netted several ranking military officers including a two-star Army general, who has been convicted and sentenced by a court martial. Their prosecution led to reforms in military procurement and other changes in the AFP to plug opportunities for graft.

The political crisis also triggered soul-searching in the Catholic Church in the Philippines. We are seeing a shift in the focus of the Church from politics to matters of the spirit — a trend no doubt inspired by the thinking of Joseph Ratzinger, who was installed this year as Pope Benedict XVI.

There are Filipinos who will miss the aggressive voice of the Church in Philippine politics. But the bishops’ renewed focus on spiritual guidance should strengthen the constitutional provision on the separation of church and state.

Before the shift, the bishops did manage to focus the spotlight on the evils bred by jueteng. For much of the year jueteng operations stopped nationwide as a result of a scandal that a bishop helped expose, and which implicated the President’s husband and eldest son. Both have denied the accusations.

Gambling lords, however, always find a way to resume operations. We will see if the nationwide ban can be sustained in the coming year.

* * *

The list of good news is not long. But Archbishop Rosales is not the first in this country to wish for more positive reporting. Businessmen have been voicing the same wish long before the Christmas season.

"There is a need to readjust the future," Rosales said in a Christmas message to reporters. He emphasized that he was not asking the mass media to ignore evil, injustice and lies.

But he said, "We have to have a vision of our people as developed, progressed and free, and move on from constraints of grievance, sickness and self-serving practices."

His Christmas wish is not unreasonable. So let’s take note of other positive trends this year:

Virgin coconut oil has taken off — a boon for coconut farmers — with consumers swearing by the oil’s positive effects on ailments ranging from arthritis to heart problems.

The local coffee industry is enjoying a boost in public interest, and farmers have been encouraged to produce more varieties in the highlands of the Cordilleras and Mindanao. Local specialty coffee is a favorite gift this Christmas. Among the gift-givers is President Arroyo.

The success of the local coffee industry could also pave the way for the resurgence of the local cocoa and processed chocolate industry.

We count our blessings in the year that was: we were spared from the tsunami and have been spared so far from bird flu.

A merry Christmas to all!