A sad reality

Dear Editor,

Striking a comparison with the President borrowing jets from friends won’t really help you in an alleged graft act of accepting two Dodge Charger cars would it? But this was what Congressman Tomas Osmeña did barely two weeks ago. Perhaps insinuating that the highest in the land be investigated too after he was investigated for allegedly keeping police cars donated by Michael Gleisner. Instead of a backlash however, Osmeña got a pat in the back through a nomination for candidacy as City Mayor given by the LP, Mr. Aquino’s party. Is the President trying to say that alleged violations pending investigation ought to be rewarded in the meantime? 

That is just a very twisted message to send to the people. What have they been smoking? As merely a concerned citizen whose welfare and opinion apparently does not matter to the people running the government, local or otherwise, but which I would still like to publicly express thank you very much, I posit that the LP nomination should have been held back until the issue has been cleared. Is it far more important to them to complete their line-ups rather than to see that their intended candidates are deserving of the office that they would possibly be voted unto? 

In our society, it is a resounding fact that popularity and ratings have the weight of gold over truth and honesty. As in showbiz, it is far more capitalizing in politics to put your bets on someone who appeals to the crowd over those that would make a significant difference in governance. It has been said over and over again that politics is a business and a very lucrative one. To veer away from what clicks with the masses would mean a capital unreturned, debts financial or otherwise, a lost opportunity of power and influence and the shame of being bested by business rivals. 

It is why politicians do what they do. And what they do is always not for the people but for the fulfillment of their own satisfaction. It is then an irony of sorts that the people are always automatically drawn to those who would shortchange them more, pragmatically speaking of course. It is very sadistic of the people to gravitate towards that which would give more pain and suffering. One cannot just blame the lame politicians, the corrupt mongrels posing as qualified leaders, it has to be the people who forget time and again how they were beaten with the stick but who still lap the hands of the beater.

As I see it, this country has not only gone to the dogs, it is already with the dogs.

Arnold C. Tugunon

Cebu City