The Face of the Philippine Politics by Jeff Navarro

            In times of great evil, we are often reminded of Epicurus, who famously questioned the notion of an omnipotent God. Epicurus argued: “If God is unable to prevent evil, then he is not all-powerful; if God is not willing to prevent evil, then he is not all-good; and if God is both willing and able to prevent evil, then why does evil exist?” Indeed, the answer is that if God designed a perfect world for each one of us, then there would be no value to human freedom. Precisely, we have to learn from our mistakes, suffer from the consequences of ill-fated decisions, but most of all, the reflexive attitude toward human action means we must not commit the same mistake over and over again. This, however, is not true in the Philippine Politics. Our political leaders are still in their usual debates and politically motivated investigations.

            In the Philippines, politics is always about the glamour of public office. In 2010 we saw President Aquino as some silver bullet delivered from above, thanks to the death of a democratic icon, Corazon Aquino, yet what we have seen so far is that the job of cleaning the terrible mess of corruption is next to impossible. They say that JejomarBinay have been using us, the people, for his own needs and ignoring what we need the most. It shows that their masks they have worn to win are not the masks they are using to help.

            Many bright academians feel the politics is nothing but a chaotic phantasmagoria. For them, it is a hopeless case. Those who say that there is a light at the end of the tunnel are actually outside of it. They want nothing about political engagements. The poor, in this regard, have two problems: Many good men, such as the townspeople I have lived with, who refuse to get involved in designing a better country for our children, and plenty of evil politicians like Binay who continue to bully their way into the future of this nation by way of political machinations.

            Theorists in this country talk about all inclusive growth, yet one government think tank is recommending relaxing minimum wage regulations in order to solve the high rate of unemployment. That suggestion is not even a Band-aid solution, it does not fix anything nor does it heal, it simply hides the real problem by artificially improving employment numbers. People do not need just jobs. People need jobs that are sustainable, that will give them the capacity to send their children to school and afford healthcare.

            In 2010, we put a lot of faith in Politicians. We were wrong. It was a mistake. A mistake that cannot be undone. However, while the courage to be is still preferred over falling into the abyss of despair, I suppose we have to change the way we see things. We have to encourage civil society to heighten discussions of public ussues rather than recommend political heroes. The face of Philippine Politics has not changed. Not because we still have the same maniacal leaders in office, but because many Filipinos have remained in the dungeons of human poverty.