The face of Philippine

politics
By: Christopher Ryan Maboloc - @inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 12:18 AM September 15, 2014

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 it 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 important 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 realm of Philippine politics. Our political
leaders are still in their usual intramural debates and politically
motivated legislative investigations. In 2010 we saw President Aquino as
some silver bullet delivered from above, thanks to the death of a
democracy icon, yet what we have seen so far is that the job of cleaning
the terrible mess of corruption is next to impossible. The issue of the
Disbursement Acceleration Program only showed that he also fell into the
indispensable necessity of party politics.

The difference between Third World politics and First World politics is
not really in the efficiency or the scientific way developed countries do
things. The difference is more fundamental. Mature democracies
determine the fate of their country on the basis of political principles. The
formula we are using is like the one filmmakers use in their movies, and
that is: Some superhero will save the day for all of us. We think that there
is some superhuman who will finally bridge the gap between rich and
poor.

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 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 capability to send their children to school and to afford healthcare.

The rumor that Manuel V. Pangilinan will supposedly bankroll the

presidential campaign of Vice President Jejomar Binay is not at all good
news. It means simply, if confirmed, the marriage of business and
politics. While both camps deny it, it is nevertheless a matter of fact that
politicians get their campaign kitty from corporate patrons. The reason is
simple: Businessmen expect returns.

The difference between public service and business needs no further

explaining. In the corporate world, you hire the brightest and weed out
the incompetent. In electing people to public office, everything will
depend on the decision of the majority. While the right of suffrage is an
equalizer, a vote is always counted as one regardless of the voter’s IQ. The
reality, however, is that new forms of control, subtle and obvious, are
employed by cunning politicians in order to influence voters. There are
many examples. There is no need to mention one.

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A politics based on personalities is the root cause of all evil. But I suppose
this is not something that God willed for the Filipino people. We can point
to history, culture and tradition as to why the future of our children has
been compromised. Some of our intelligent legislators are even proposing
useless bills in Congress. There are good bills, though, like those that are
intended to enhance the role of the middle class by easing the burden of
income taxation.

In the Philippines, politics is always about the glamour of public office.

Marriage proposals take more space in social media than the
achievement of a teacher who has committed his life to serving the
children in tribal communities. The facts are glaring. Dynasties in the
South have stifled human development. The poorest provinces are ruled
by pseudo-kings.

Many bright academicians feel that 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 who refuse to get involved in designing a
better country for our children, and plenty of evil politicians who
continue to bully their way into the future of this nation by way of
political machinations.

In 2010, I put a lot of faith in President Aquino. I was wrong. It was a

mistake. A mistake 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 issues 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.

Christopher Ryan Maboloc teaches philosophy at the Ateneo de Davao University.

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