49 million Yanks are now living in poverty?

I was a bit amused by the editorial of The FREEMAN yesterday entitled “Dictatorship,” which somehow pointed to the way that the Aquino administration is handling or should I say mishandling the issue where former Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) is seeking medical help abroad. I certainly would not be using the word “dictatorship” when we refer to the Aquino government, after all, the assassination of the President’s father resulted in the downfall of the Marcos Dictatorship and the unexpected assumption of the President’s mother as Chief Executive following Marcos.

 But if you examined this issue very closely, I cannot help but concur with the editorial that indeed the Department of Justice (DoJ) had literally thrown the proverbial kitchen sink to prevent the former President from leaving the country for medical reasons. Yet in the midst of this debate, the authorities could not prevent the principal suspect in the celebrated Ram Revilla murder from exiting the NAIA. Preventing the Arroyos from leaving the country has no legal basis to lean on. Hence, without any legal basis, then one can really say that things are turning dictatorial.

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 Funny for International Monetary Fund (IMF) Deputy Managing Director Naoyuki  Shinohara to issue a statement that says that the IMF believes that the Philippines has the capability to survive the impact of the fragile economic growth in advance economies. This is something that we Filipinos have known a long time ago, after all, we endured decades under a colonial rule, we endured wars and we’ve endured never-ending poverty.

 Indeed the Filipino people have been blessed by God almighty with a hardy soul. We’ve wallowed in poverty for so long, when we get a little notch upwards, we are already happy. A case in point is our having so many call centers here. This modern-day digital industry did not thrive in America simply because Americans would never accept a pay of only US$300 or US$400 dollars a month.

 This is why this industry left America and went to India. But as far as call centers are concerned, Indians have a distinctive intonation in their English, hence, while we Filipinos have a more neutral sounding tone in the way we speak the English language, which is why we bested the Indians in this game. How I wish we could grow much more in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry.

 Speaking of the US, I just read a report that the US wealth gap is now the widest on record. Older Americans are now staying in jobs longer than they want to, while young American graduates are getting a taste of what our local graduates always face after graduation… unemployment. These reports don’t augur well with the current US economy under Pres. Barrack Obama.

 In fact the US poverty rate has now reached a record high of 16% or 49.1 million Americans based on the new census that took into account the rising cost of medical expenses. Americans 65 or older got the largest increase in the poverty levels. Even the working age adults from ages 18-64 saw increases in poverty levels. Now didn’t I write an article a few months back that Fr. Stefano Gobbi got an inner locution from the Blessed Virgin Mary during a Cenacle in Pennsylvania in 1991 when Mama Mary told him, “America will know poverty because she has turned away from God!” For you doubters out there, please take note that whenever the Blessed Virgin Mary prophesies, it always comes true.

 Since America elected its first Black President in Pres. Obama, he has not turned back the recession that they were already suffering as he entered the White House. Worse of all, the tandem of Pres. Obama and his State Secretary Hillary Clinton is spreading America’s culture of death to many 3rd world countries, which ends up with the killing of the innocents through abortion. Like it or not, God is watching us… and we are getting the warnings through the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. If America doesn’t heed the call of repentance, America will fall into a dark abyss.

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 Urban poor dwellers living on the Mandaue side of the Mahiga Creek have warned Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama with lawsuits if he starts clearing their side of the creek. There is no doubt that these people can file any suit that they want against Mayor Rama and I fully agree that he should coordinate with Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes. But the question is will Mayor Jonas Cortes coordinate with Mayor Rama. It is a known fact that Mayor Cortes is an ally of Rep. Tomas Osmeña, so chances are, he won’t coordinate or budge to help Mayor Rama. So when the rains return and inundate the same areas, please don’t blame the Cebu City government anymore. This time, you can pin the blame on the Mandaue City government.

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