Yesterday evening, millions of Filipinos saw on primetime TV the hysterical standoff between the court sheriff and his assistants and the Grand Central legal counsels and their security guards and mall employees as both sides tried to prevent the other from gaining the upperhand in this real-life drama.
What many people normally do not see is what happens after the confrontation. It was past nine when I reached Monumento yesterday evening and this is what I saw: ordinary Filipinos, uniformed policemen mingling with Grand Central security guards, resting after a hard day's work.
Which brings us to the lessons of this drama:
First, what the standoff demonstrates is that, in this country, if you have money and you can hire high-profile lawyers and deploy an army of security guards, you can basically hold off the Philippine government. With money, you can match force with force, power with power. At least long enough to buy time to think about your next move. But if you're a nobody, the authorities will simply run you over. Wala kang kalaban-laban.
Second, in the struggle, it is the ordinary people -- security guards, mall employees, police officers, court workers -- who are pitted against each other, ready to bang their heads and bruise their bodies simply to get the job done for whoever is paying their salaries. With the open-close-open-close nature of their recent operations, the small stall owners inside the mall are in a daze, anxious about what the future holds for them and their businesses.
On the other hand, the mall owners, Caloocan City Hall officials, the judge who issued the order, all of them are physically detached from the confrontation. Safe sila, malayo sa disgrasya kaya madali sa kanilang mag-isyu ng mabibigat na mga confrontational orders. Well I guess that's how the system works, but it doesn't mean that it's fair.
Third, the force of the law and police power should be used responsibly by those in position of authority. They are meant to equalize life's opportunities and access to justice for both the poor and the wealthy instead of unsettling them further. But I don't think the paradigm should change at all.
Hearts and minds need to change if we are to really be a nation under the rule of law and not of wealthy and powerful men.
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It’s 3:25pm, March 9, 2009. I just finished watching the I’d say that this is a pivotal moment in Philippine consumerism history.
Hooray to Mr. Philip Piccio and the entire PEP Coalition. Mabuhay kayo mga bro! In spite of your own problems, you still managed to help expose more of the underhanded tricks in this entire Legacy scam. Astig talaga mga Pinoy!
Hindi po ako personal na apektado ng CAP or Pacific or Legacy but I’m nevertheless very much concerned because the underlying reason for this entire mess is unmitigated negligence by people in government like those in the SEC who did not do their job failed to protect the interest of the people who invested in these pre-need plans — the very people who are paying them their salaries as government officials. Doubly ironic!
We all need to join hands to promote truth, justice, good governance and fair treatment of consumers and the hapless parents in this country. Right now, many schools are poised to raise their tuition fees even in the face of an open appeal for a tuition fee moratorium by DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus, a call backed up by no less than the Archbishop of Manila.
I have posted an article in my blog about this issue, The DepEd, the CHED and Tuition Fees, Part 1 - Hanggang Pakiusapan Na Lang Ba?”.
My personal belief is that if we PARENTS forge the same unity that we’ve just seen at work in the Senate a few moments ago and demonstrate it before Secretary Jesli Lapus of the DepEd and the CHED Commissioners, we will be able to stop these tuition fee increases dead on their tracks. The result will be even better if we PARENTS and the STUDENTS will act as one to reclaim our rights and defend the future of millions of young Filipinos. That PARENTS-STUDENTS synergy should happen. It’s about time!
The DepEd and the CHED have their own negligent practices which have not yet been exposed. For example, do you know that the DepEd-NCR receives the applications for tuition fee increases filed by private elementary and private schools? The office of the DepEd-NCR is located at Misamis St. near the SM City Carpark in Quezon City.
Do you also know that the education supervisors of the DepEd will tell you that “we do not approve or deny tuition fee applications; we just acknowledge them!” The result, pasok ang tuition fee increase (kahit na may mga kwestiyon sa requirements), taob ang bulsa ng mga magulang!
Ang style naman ng ibang private schools, hindi areglado ang consultation process. Walang announcement, walang financial statements na ibinibigay sa mga kausap nilang sektor, etc. Tambalan mo pa ng attitude ng maraming parents na — “wala tayong magagawa diyan, pabayaan na natin ‘yan!” — and the result is a total disaster for all of us parents and students. Kailangan na pong mabago ang mapaminsalang sistemang ganito.
The bottom line?
My point is that we PARENTS and STUDENTS, through our faith, unity and determination, can convince this government to adopt sweeping policy and procedural reforms that will better protect our rights and promote our interests. This is our moment. And I believe that it is divinely-appointed.
We should support Senator Enrile’s call for resignation of the entire SEC officialdom. This should happen so that people in government will know that, from now on, the Filipino people will hold them for their complicity or negligence. The commitment shown by Senators Roxas, Enrile and Biazon on this matter should be sustained by our continued interest and determined efforts.
I urge Mr. Philip Piccio and other leaders of the PEP Coalition to seize the moment and to take the lead in this call for unity and convene a wider meeting not only among affected pre-need groups but also among consumer advocates. It will be a privilege for me to attend such a meeting (my email address is rollyocampo@yahoo.com). I know other people are just waiting in the wings to join such a movement.
Tayong malilit, palagi na lang inilalampaso at pinaglalaruan nang mga malalaki, mayayaman at ng mga makapangyarihan even though the Constitution says that we the people are supposed to be sovereign. Ang sabi, “”sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.” For once, and finally, let’s prove to everyone that we really are!
Mabuhay ang Pinoy! God bless sa inyong lahat!
Hmmm, let me backtrack a little on my previous comment. In my excitement, the keyboard typed out the opening line like this:
It’s 3:25pm, March 9, 2009. I just finished watching the I’d say that this is a pivotal moment in Philippine consumerism history.
It should have read:
It’s 3:25pm, March 9, 2009. I just finished watching the Senate inquiry on the Legacy fiasco over at ANC and I’d say that this is a pivotal moment in Philippine consumerism history.
Sori, tao lang …