Thanks to infamous leaders like Ferdinand Marcos, Saddam Hussein, Fidel Castro, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and now, Muammar Gaddafi, people often associate government leaders with tyrants. Ergo, people who have the balls to stand up against political leaders, especially to the person holding the highest position in the land, are seen as heroes. In other words, opposition usually merits good reputation.
Opposition is good in so many ways: It means you're not apathetic to occurrences around you. It means you act upon things which you find unusual and against your principles and welfare. It means you fight for your rights, even against all odds. True enough, the bigger the opponent is, or the more difficult the situation is, the more valiant you'll appear in the eyes of spectators. Think David vs. Goliath.
Opposing means you don't simply go with the flow, especially when the flow is going in an unfavorable direction. In other words, you don't take things sitting down.
Just read Mong Palatino's "Reclaim EDSA, the people's highway" (and I highly suggest you click the hyperlink leading to Palatino's blog if you want to understand what I'm talking about), courtesy of my good buddy, Jaymee Ebreo. It's quite a read, but it sums up to just one word: opposition.
With all the positives of opposition, of course, it also has its drawbacks. In the wrong state of mind, opposition can hinder progress of an individual, a group, or an entire nation. Opposition, without proper inquiry or investigation, can stop good things from happening.
In Palatino's blog, he was strongly opposing the LRT/MRT fare hike and is defending the San Roque community in North Triangle. My question is, why?
Let's talk about the trains first. As part of the government's services to its tax payers, they should be cheap, if not free. But the government can't run this expensive show without asking patrons to pay for tickets, otherwise, we'll be spending a huge percentage of our entire funds on these trains, and only few will benefit from it (more on that as you read on).
And at the end of the day, the LRT/MRT is a business. The initial purpose it was suppose to serve is to make a profit so that the government has more money to allot on projects and services. Any business needs to make money, otherwise, it will close down. Now, take a good look around you and you'll notice that the price of every commodity, good and/or service has gone up for each passing year. One of the few exemptions is the LRT/MRT.
Think about it. The equipment for maintaining/fixing these trains, they're prices have gone up. The cleaning materials, they're prices have gone up. Those outsourced janitorial staff, their agency most likely demanded for more money in exchange for the cleaners dispatched in the train stations, even though these janitors and janitresses didn't get a salary increase. And let's not forget, these trains run on the most expensive electricity in Asia. All these hardships endured by the LRT/MRT every year.
And the government didn't increase ticket prices for how many years again? Then we go complaining about how hot it is inside the trains, or why it's always late or broken?
The government is spending a lot on subsidizing the LRT/MRT, but how many Filipinos benefit from it? Only the entire NCR. What about the rest of the Philippines? Does the remaining of Luzon and those in Visayas and Mindanao give an eff about said trains? From my understanding, the money being used on the LRT/MRT is on the national level. Isn't it unfair to those outside Metro Manila to see their taxes go to something they don't even benefit from?
That's why it's time for us, denizens of NCR, to pay our dues and start shouldering the burden of the speedy LRT/MRT. Yes, a fare hike will always be a problem, especially in these trying times. But think about the reasons I cited above and you'll understand that it's reasonable. A bitter pill to swallow, yet reasonable.
"If you can't tell me what you'd like to be happening, then you don't have a problem yet. You're just complaining." - The One Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard and Spencer JohnsonIf Palatino is really pro-poor, then he should've included in his post some suggestions that can contribute to the prevention of a fare hike. Well, he didn't. But I do, and two at that.
Exempting oil firms from paying taxes can solve the problem. By taking away their taxes, I don't see any reason why oil prices shouldn't go down by such a large margin. And when oil prices go down, everything else follows. Besides, those bastards behind the industry's major players are probably evading taxes anyway. Officially exempting them from tax gives them one big reason to deflate oil/gasoline prices, if not, gives them one less excuse to refuse doing so.
And in this day and age where there's so much solar-powered gadgets around, why can't we develop or adapt technology that'll make the LRT/MRT run on solar power?
But for the mean time, we'll have to pay more for that train ride, not because the government is being anti-poor, but because it makes sense.
So what about the residents of the San Roque community? Well, I don't even know why asking them to move out is pissing Palatino off.
I understand that the timing of the demolition was a bit off, after all, there are kids attending school in that area. But they were given, I strongly believe, ample time to move out. Besides, these people knew they're occupying land they shouldn't be occupying in the first place. Being Filipinos, our culture demands us to be sympathetic.So the government offers a win-win solution of sorts: San Roque residents get relocated and receive money, while the government clears a piece of land. How do the San Roque denizens respond? They raise hell.
What about the rest of us, Mong? Me, among a good number of Pinoys that don't own a freaking home to call our own, work our butts off to pay for rent. And that's just the least of our problems. We got other stuff to pay for: electricity bills, water bills, tuition fees of kids, and of course, food.
I PAY RENT DAMN IT!!! I PAY RENT THAT I BARELY HAVE EXTRA MONEY FOR THE RAINY DAYS!!! I PAY RENT (which in most cases, usually goes up every year, good thing I have a nice landlady) THAT I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO SPEND ON STUFF I LIKE OR TO PUT UP A BUSINESS!!! DAMN IT, BECAUSE SQUATTING IS AGAINST THE LAW, I AM FORCED TO LIVE IN AN APARTMENT, AND I HAVE TO PAY RENT!!!
And the people of San Roque gets a new home plus money. Wow! And they still get mad? And you support them for that? I believe there's no room for complaints when an acceptable solution has already been offered.
Tell me Mong, do you see those businesses in San Roque? I do. I see it from the MRT. Do those business owners pay taxes for putting up business? I doubt. Tax free and free land. What more can you ask for? C'mon everybody, let's squat everywhere and anywhere we want to. What does this have to do with EDSA again? Fucking nothing.
You (Palatino) want to fight for our right to rally in EDSA, I'm all for that. But you are the first to misunderstand what it represented back then. EDSA is all about the power of unity -- us working together towards a common goal, a goal (freedom) beneficial to all. Something enjoyed from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, not just in NCR or in San Roque.
EDSA, and other rallies for that matter, is the embodiment of the people's frustration in the justice system. Whenever we feel that we can't get what we want via traditional mediums, we take it to the streets. Thus, it shows when the need arises, Filipinos will oppose those they believe wrong. Filipinos will fight for what they believe is right. But looking back, did EDSA really pay off?
EDSA I: We ousted Ferdinand Marcos for Corazon Aquino.
EDSA II: We ousted Erap Estrada for Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
After McKoy's regime, the Philippines has fallen behind in almost any aspect you could think of. We lived in terror back in the Marcos era, but after the bus bombings, the carnappings, etc., whose to say we can be at ease today?
As written in "Giving credit where it's due - to Mckoy", it's really hard to make people believe that Marcos' administration sucked, when succeeding presidents can't outperform him.
In Erap's case, in his unfinished term, he raised the salaries of teachers, and showed willingness to end the war in Mindanao. The succeeding years, which involves a lot of GMA, we all know what happened.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it opposition -- rallies -- that sparked the implementation of contractualization in the country? Before that, once you get hired, your automatically a regular employee.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that we've had too much opposition by now, that we're barely giving ourselves, and the government, a chance -- a chance to work together and a chance to succeed. Clearly, history is not on our side. Even if we succeeded in ousting unwanted leaders, the Philippines failed to progress.
No, I'm not 100% pro-government, and in this day and age, who is? Read my blog entries here on Lone Opinion and Siopao Heaven and you'll see I'm not much of a P-Noy fan as well. Like Mong, I commend them for the things they do right. I also will bash them for things they do wrong. Yes, we should be allowed to rally back in EDSA. EDSA belongs to the people. But EDSA should be used properly. Why raise placards when there our other ways to get the government to listen to us? EDSA, and rallies for that matter, should be our last resort when all hope is gone. Never should it be our first option when airing grievances or solving problems, for by doing so, each moment that people assemble at EDSA, EDSA loses its power and sacredness. For by overusing EDSA as a venue, people will start treating it as an ordinary road and even important events will be mistaken as ordinary gatherings.
Yes, we must reclaim EDSA, but when we do, let us use it and remember it for the right reasons.
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