Teach me to laugh, Lord!

There are many things about the headlines today that bring out the cynic in the Filipino. It is the moment of dreary promises, stories told and speeches made – reaffirming the same old platitudes. Democracy? Freedom? Independence? Have we really freed ourselves of colonial mentality or our own faults to say the least?

Times are truly difficult for Juan de la Cruz, not necessarily for the rich who cannot feel the ill-effects of hard life. I don’t really think it’s because Juan is tamad (or lazy) but because his government is not functioning well. Instead of leading us to the road of progress, they halt or delay it for some reason only known to them.

Take for instance the legislative branch, the law-making body. They should formulate laws that would govern the lives of citizens and maintain peace and order in the community. Where are their carefully crafted laws? Why don’t we feel the change? Instead of creating laws that should improve our quality of life or straighten up government policies, they continue to create laws that serve and protect their own interests. What’s worse is that these lawmakers are the lawbreakers. Sanamagan!

Haven’t you noticed that the “bills” prioritized are closer to their personal interests or to their known ‘family’-owned corporations in the cities or the provinces? Instead of thinking of the country’s development, they are obviously thinking of what they will gain in the guise of country development.

What used to be a venue for intelligent discourse on laws governing the land has become a place where theatrical acts happen much to the chagrin and embarrassment of the Filipino people. But then again these so-called esteemed congressmen and senators are like emperors parading in sheepskin with sheepish smiles plastered on their faces, perhaps saying…you cannot touch us, we are the powerful and mighty…so just be quiet, raise no objections, ask no questions and your lives will be better. In fact, something worth their time for the country’s future needs a lot of ‘lobbying.’

At this point in our history, our solons should focus on reviewing contradicting laws or clarify the gray areas in some of the laws passed which have resulted in different interpretations of the executive, the judiciary and the legislative branches. There has to be a common ground for both the national and local government to work together to prevent avenues of corruption. In fact, many city and barangay ordinances are easily used to circumvent the law. Susmariosep!

It is time Congress reviews the Local Government Code that seems to be exploiting the citizens thru various ordinances. Don’t forget the Barangay and City permits that have kilometric list of requirements with their corresponding fees making Pinoys dizzy and financially drained? Obviously, this is another venue for corruption with ‘fixers’ in place.

Here is Juan de la Cruz, working so hard and paying so much to government. After paying all the required fees to the barangay, the city and to the national government he is left hungry, tired and with nothing. This is how crime develops. Our system encourages crime. Our government thinks of ways to purge its citizens to death, not thinking at all of our well- being. Surely, if public service is excellent and efficient, who will complain?

P-Noy should stop his games. One day he says he wants to extend his term with Cha-cha and the next day he suddenly withdraws his claim. Then, the following day he says he is listening to the voices of the people and will follow their lead. He did the same thing with the DAP issue and the Supreme Court. First, he radically attacks them; then, Malacañang withdraws their actions; then complete silence until the announcement of installing Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza to the Supreme Court who Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno clearly opposed due to ‘integrity’ issues.

Seriously, Mr. President are you confusing or plainly distracting us from the major issues of your day? Such is not an act of a statesman and a gentleman at that. We want the DOTC- MRT problem, the MMDA- traffic problem, the BUDGET- DAP/ Pork Barrel issue, the Department of Agriculture issue (on fertilizers, coconut and rice), the Supreme Court and Executive branch issue, the Bureau of Customs and truck ban problem (that is harming product deliveries and sales), the K-12 program, the Energy crisis, poverty, hunger, unemployment, corruption, crime, healthcare, etc. – not to mention the heartbreaking Torre de Manila issue (covering the Jose Rizal Shrine in Luneta) – RESOLVED! Such shallow and seemingly minor wishes and yet this Administration finds difficulty in resolving them.

Our resilience is being tested every day, every minute and every second. Our air is polluted, our trees are gone and our beautiful islands are exploited. And as we get older and wiser in life, it becomes worse because we cannot seem to even twitch our cheeks to smile or laugh. We want to find humor in all these but end up mad and frustrated.

It is typical of Filipino’s greatness of soul in these heady and perilous days that we rage against fate. It is the measure of our diminished state that today we act with fury only against the bureaucracy. We continue to cry for justice, peace and unity to this day and age.

My father, the late Maximo V. Soliven (whose birth anniversary falls on September 4) always talks to me about one of his favorite heroes, Apolinario Mabini, “The Sublime Paralytic.” When things feel rough and frustration sets in during confusing times in our country, he is reminded of a part of Mabini’s True Decalogue (1898): Thou shalt love thy country after God and thy honor and more than thyself; for she is the only Paradise which God has given thee in life, the patrimony of thy race, the only inheritance of thy ancestors, and the only hope of the posterity; because of her, thou hast life, love and happiness, honor and God... Thou shalt strive for the happiness of thy country before thy own, making her the kingdom of reason, of justice, and of labor; For if she be happy, thou together with thy family, shalt likewise be happy.

But somewhere along the line, as my dad puts it, “we lost our way.” And he continues, “this day will not be lost if we resolve to retrace our steps and find the true path again.”

My dad once wrote that: “Without Ninoy Aquino’s date with the assassin at the airport tarmac on August 21, 1983, there would have been no EDSA People Power Revolution – and there would have been no President Corazon C. Aquino. Every cause has its effects.”

What “cause” can we embrace today that can give meaning to our disappointed lives? Until the Filipino’s search is completed, until he finds himself, we will have neither happiness nor rest.

Teach me to laugh, Lord, for it is in laughter a secret of healing that a man has ever sought; a militant joyousness, shaking beam and rafter that breeds new life to every word and thought! Show me the way, Lord, a humble way of life; Yet proud and eager, froth with strength and joy; Teach me the glad peal of it, the world has known; But scoffing, and heard too seldom – the laughter of man! – Maximo V. Soliven