Anti-Poverty Czar is Ignorant

     This is a classic case of a politician who is utterly ignorant of the realities of Philippine society, who lives in Manila but is unaware of the rampant poverty in the countryside, to think he is the anti-poverty secretary yet he doesn't know the actual state in the countryside. If your measure is the oppulence in Metro Manila, you are completely detached. You are not aware of the existence of urban poor in squalor in the squatter areas. I am disgusted with how the President can appoint him into his cabinet to look into the poverty situation and improve it. If people like him can hold such high position with this viewpoint, it is a doom for the country.

37th People Power Anniversary

     Yesterday was the 37th People Power Anniversary and there was no huge celebration. The opposition discredited the ruling government led by the father of today's President, overthrown in 1986 in a peaceful uprising. The world applauded the peaceful change for it brought a promise of hope.

EDSA was empty, uprising seems forgotten

     The political events in 1986 brought promise of hope to the people. Everyone thought, myself included, it would have augured for the change that would drive the country to progress. After a long time, it has not change the lives of the people. The country has not progressed as I expected and the son of the then President is back in power. Something must be wrong.

     I am back here in the grassroots after my stroke and I am trying to figure out what went wrong. Why it has not changed for the better. I believe the struggle is among the powerful elites, the yellows closely identified with the Aquino's and the reds, the Marcos camp. In 2016, Duterte won because the poor voted for him as he was seen as the answer to their woes. Along the way when he was in power, the politicians closely linked to the reds aligned with him, and he in order to survive, allied with them otherwise the yellows can lead to overthrow him. 

     The elites reds won handsomely installing Marcos' son as the President. He is in power because the local leaders preferred him over the yellows to the detriment of the poor because no one really fights for them. The elites are fighting politically but the poor is disenfranchised for no one really fights for their interest. The worst part is that they are not aware about it. 

     The country has been focused on democracy, on politics after EDSA but no focus is given to the economics of the country. The imbalance of the wealth is maintained. There is still rampant poverty. 

Life Expectancy

     I saw this online and it pains to know the Philippines is 7th in life expectancy when it used to be as high as 3rd in the 70's if I remember right.

Poor 7th we are

     I am not surprised Singapore leads the pack as everyone there has job, it has well developed environment and is very efficient in all ways. The people has probably lower worry and medical care is superb. To see the Philippines among the bottom is a painful reality, an offshoot of the widespread poverty, unemployment and poor services such as the hospital. The country is no longer in the league of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Vietnam and Indonesia are overtaking the Philippines and I see that discipline is the common denominator.

     The Philippines is focused on political freedom but lags in the economic enhancement. Wealth is concentrated in the hands of the few while majority wallows in dire poverty. Politicians are mainly wealthy and looking only at the interest of the rich. Politics is a contest between this rich gang and that rich group