What is it about the month of August and Luneta that seems to be a bad combination for the P-Noy administration? On August 23, 2010, Luneta was the scene of the tragic Manila Massacre where 8 Chinese tourists were killed in cold blood by a disgruntled dismissed police officer. That was the first crisis and first test of the P-Noy administration in terms of leadership, teamwork and diplomatic competency. As history shows us, they failed that miserably. Up to this time the families of the victims are still demanding an apology and compensation from the Philippine government.
Three years later the P-Noy administration is once again confronted with another “first†and once again it took place in Luneta. That “first†is of course the first mass action or protest to happen during the P-Noy administration. Fortunately for President Noynoy, this first protest was not aimed at him but his former associates in the House of Representatives and the Senate. On this occasion Luneta became the convergence point of middle and upper class Filipinos showing their difference of opinion with the President regarding what to do with the hated “Pork Barrel System.†Try as he did to head off or dissipate public anger against the PDAF or pork barrel fund three days earlier, people still went to Luneta to make it clear that they want an end to PDAF and not just an overhaul of the system or the fund.
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As expected, there was some debate about how many really went to Luneta especially since it was dubbed as a “Million March.†The lowest count I heard was allegedly from the Manila Police that placed crowd estimate at 70,000 people. The MPD was of course being consistent because 60,000 to 70,000 is their constant estimate for events that are not organized by government, even those in the past administrations. The highest crowd estimate made placed the number of participants at around 100,000 people. What everybody seemed to miss or forgot to point out was the all-important number: P10 billion. Yes, the 100,000 people that went to Luneta had a net worth of P10 billion, which is the estimated amount of money that has been misappropriated, misused or stolen through the pork barrel. That, at the end of the day is the all-important number as far as the participants were concerned. P10 billion stolen was the reason they marched to Luneta. It was not about a simple-minded show of numbers or show of force. It was an expression of indignation. It was to show that they were willing to get out of their comfort zone and do something, somehow, to send a message to members of Congress, the Senate and the President of the Philippines that they want an end to the Priority Development Assistance Fund otherwise known as the pork barrel!
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What makes the Luneta event of great significance is that it was clearly a “march of the middle and upper class members of society.†Yes it looked like the march of the rich and famous and rightly so because they are the ones who paid the most taxes and got robbed the most. They were not faceless corporations or business addresses in Makati, Ortigas, Greenhills, or The Fort. Those people in white were real professionals many in the above 10% or at the 32% tax bracket. They are the ones who invested in businesses, created jobs, took risks, paid dearly for specialized training or competency courses and paid taxes through the nose.
They are also the people who have to deal with politicians knocking at their doors for campaign contributions every election, asking for special discounts, freebies or to endorse people for employment. They are the ones who have to pay fixers to get through red tape; they are the ones who need to find shortcuts and loopholes to save every peso in order to make profits. They are the ones who cannot even openly enjoy the fruits of their hard labor for fear of extortion, kidnapping or being unduly audited by the BIR. In the meantime, while they drive their low-key vehicles, a Congressman or a Senator drives by in a Porsche, and Aston Martin or a Bentley all brandishing their license plates of privilege with the #7 and #8 on their bumpers. To add insult to injury they are followed by back-up security escorts on vehicles paid for by taxpayers, fueled with taxpayers’ money.
When these hardworking members of the middle and upper class, professionals and business owners attend parties, they also keep a low profile and avoid attracting undue attention. But in those same parties paid for by the private sector, they find Senators and Congressmen ushered by ala Secret Service type bodyguards and personal assistants as if mimicking some US cabinet member or TV movie political character. Simply put when you work so hard at what you do, nothing turns your stomach more than knowing that self-entitled political opportunists are spending your hard earned money for their pleasure, and continued stay in power! And then they shake your hands, smile at you as if they were real celebrities or movie stars!
Yes it was a march full of rich people and young ladies smelling like Bench endorsers, yes the preferred language was English, yes they had their umbrellas, iPhones and Ipads. Yes there were so many head turners in the crowd that all you needed were polo riders or soccer players to have an event. And yes there was nothing out of place about it because they paid and earned a right to be heard and to be seen like every self-respecting Filipino given a chance to stand up against corruption and abuse. They had more than an excuse; they had every right to be there!
And if they acted like bosses, they were at least legitimate and honest to goodness bosses who owned the company. Oh, by the way, there were a lot of poor people there and they made a good -days living selling to the rich at 200% profit. No one complained.