philippines in the doldrums

WHY RP IS STILL IN THE DOLDRUMS



The Philippines prides itself as the first democracy in Asia not to mention the "only Christian" nation in this part of the globe(as if there is anything to be proud about this fact). But,many observers, watchers and the the citizens themselves, ask why is still the country stucked in the doldrums? We are left behind by its neighbors in terms of socio- economic development.

However, as pointed out by William Esposo, the Internet opinion of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine society is far from:

"Attaining social justice. There is an oligarchy that operates a semi-feudal structure where about 90 percent of the wealth is in the hands of 3 percent of Philippine society. There are two active rebellions in the Philippines - one a Communist insurgency and the other a Muslim separatist movement - that have been raging for over 30 years now.

"Instituting real reforms. How can real reform come from political structures that the privileged 3 percent control and use to perpetuate their stranglehold on the economy and strengthen their political power?

"Providing freedom for all. The top 3 percent enjoy much more freedom (and exclusive privileges) than the bottom 60 percent who live below the poverty line. The 60 percent living below the poverty line do not have a voice and they are mostly engaged in the fight for that freedom from want and hunger."

Esposo said one of the reasons why Filipinos are disunited and at odds with each other is because many do not really know their history and do not understand the socio-economic forces that exploit them and conspire to keep them poor and ignorant.

He argued that history proved that even a known divided society like ours can be galvanized into greatness - and even inspire the world like our People Power events did - if there is a leadership that can raise the right standard every Filipino will rally to. "Unity remains elusive in the Philippines because the ruling class benefits from disunity. The divide and rule dictum was perfected by the Roman Caesars and today that is applied with optimum efficiency to exploit the Filipinos",he adds.

Many Filipinos, in reality know the reasons for the inescapable muck where it is trapped. However, nobody seems brave enough to challenge the existing social structures and rally the national consciousness to move away.

At the moment, individual Filipinos are "contented" with the status quo where the minority control the reins of socio- economic power and hapless minority are inutile in doing something about it.