singaw

I have this "singaw"(trans.: open mouth sore) on my lower lip. Actually there are two of them; one on top of the other. Due to their presence my mouth is perpetually dry. Talking is hard. Eating is painful. Smiling is almost impossible. I could put "tawas" on them to close the wound and speed up the healing, but it would be excruciatingly painful. So I put up with the singaw. I talk through my teeth. I eat using only the right side of my mouth, so that I look like a half-inflated blowfish. I try to smile, but I think people see me as constipated. I try to alleviate the pain, just to avoid using tawas. I use ice cubes to cool it down. I smear toothpaste on it, believing that it would work just like tawas, minus the pain (nice try). I press on it with my fingers; no benefit, I just like to remind the damned thing who's boss. So I live with it. The cure is there, yet I choose to live with it.

By this time you might be thinking that I'm just plain weird, writing about something as mundane as an open mouth sore. But think about it. Aren't we all like that? We have a problem, we complain, we see a solution, yet we reject it as it's too painful. So we just live with the pain. We tolerate it, and sometimes even exacerbate it. We make problems worse, instead of finding solutions that work.

So, what is our problem? Pointless and pathetic as it is, the political crisis is a problem, but it also generates an even bigger problem: an economic crisis. Our country's economy has been weak(floundering would be a better term) for many years now, but the growing confusion, disorder, and discontent fomented by our patriotic, selfless, truth-seeking, progressive opposition has pushed our economic woes to new heights. It's all a matter of perception. The world sees our country embroiled in politicking and mudslinging and rallies and never-ending "investigations in aid of re-election".

The international investors have second thoughts about investing in a country so unstable and unruly. Less money enters the country, fewer jobs are made, more people become poor, and the poor become poorer.

In Makati's financial district businessmen are forced to work in a noisy, congested environment thanks to the rallyists shouting annoying rhymes, blaring loud music, and blocking Ayala Avenue. Productivity drops. Less money is made. Fewer jobs are made. More people become poor. The poor become poorer.

In the major roads normal people leading normal lives are blocked from working by the masses of rallyists hefting red banners. Traffic jams are created. Productivity at offices drop. Less money is made. Fewer jobs are created. More people become poor. The poor become poorer. And more people get angry after waiting three hours in EDSA or in Ayala thanks to the progressive groups blocking the streets calling for PGMA's ouster and, get this, complaining about he poverty and hardship due to the weak economy of the country. Couple that with rising fuel prices, the worsening "brain drain", and the ballooning debt the country owes, and you have one hell of a singaw in your mouth.

Yet do we do anything to address the problem? No! We make it worse! Instead of uniting the people to take on the crisis, the enlightened politicians divide them, focusing instead on power-grabbing and destabilization. Instead of presenting solutions, they present more unauthenticated, unverified, sensationalized "evidence" from untrustworthy, sometimes criminal sources. Instead of working with the government, they undermine it, destabilize it, and destroy the people's trust in it. Don't get me wrong, however. I'm not condoning the anomalies and corruption in our government. I'm just saying that in a time of crisis we should rally behind our leaders, not against them. I'm also not saying that PGMA is the be-all end-all solution to the crisis. I believe that she is a weak leader, but she is still the President of our country. I'm only saying that she provides one very important thing to the country: stability. Yes, the opposition is raising hell now, but that is nothing compared to what could happen if PGMA is removed from office. With their conflicting agendas, ideologies, and plans for the future the opposition's desperate alliance would fragment and bring the country to the brink of anarchy the moment that the President is ousted.

So pano gagaling ang singaw? Dudutdutin pa ba natin ito gamit ang ating daliri? Hahayaan nalang ba natin itong lumaki, sumakit, o mas lalong lumala? O lalagayan na natin ito ng tawas, kahit masakit, para gumaling na? Tama na ang siraan, ang takutan, ang kagaguhan. Oras na para magkaisa laban sa gulo, sa dibisyon, sa pamumulitika. Unahin naman sana ang interes ng mamamayan, wag ang pangsariling interes at ambisyon. Naghihirap na ang bayan, huwag niyo nang dagdagan. Oo, importanteng malaman ang katotohanan, kahit na kayo-kayo din ang nagsimula ng kaguluhan, ngunit dapat mas mangibabaw ang kapakanan ng bawat mamamayan, ang kapakanan ng ating Inang Bayan.

Healing takes time, and may even be painful, yet let us think of the greater good; of our people, of our country, of our children. Now, more than ever, we need unity. A divided house cannot stand. Our country will not be able to withstand any crisis if its people are at each other's throats. Let's put tawas on our singaw, and just bear the short period of pain, instead of just tolerating it now and making it worse, for in the long run, it will get worse. Talking will be excruciatingly painful. Eating will be nearly impossible. Smiling will be impossible.

"People Power" AGAIN?!

With the junking of the impeachment complaint in the House of Representatives last week, the opposition has returned to calling for President Arroyo's ouster. It's "People Power" all over again, with Corazon Aquino calling on Filipinos to go out to the streets and demand the President's resignation, along with new characters such as the Estradas(former President Joseph Estrada was booted out by another "People Power revolt), the so-called "Hyatt 10"(who sang "If We Hold On Together" with the President barely a week before turning their backs on her), the Left(militants who seize at every opportunity to topple any government), militant priests(such as Fr. Robert Reyes, a.k.a "the running priest", who seems to have forgotten his hunger strike pledge), and the poor, gullible masses.

Di pa ba tayo nagsasawa sa panay "People Power" na yan? Pangatlong beses na a!

The first was applauded, the second was tolerated. The third time, well, we would probably become a laughingstock; an immature society that squeals like a baby whenever it feels a pinch. We claim to be a democracy, yet whenever we don't approve of our leaders' actions we turn into an anarchical society, where the law is trampled upon in the name of vox populi. The people's voice, or the voice of opportunistic, power-hungry, greedy personalities using the uneducated and gullible masses as puppets to further their own ends?

C'mon! Look at the people who are calling us out to the streets: hodgepodge of liars, traitors, opportunists, anarchists, and communists! These are people that we would never in our right minds invite into our homes, yet we tolerate their shenanigans and disruptive behavior. We choose to listen to people whose reputations are questionable at the least, criminal at the worst. Heck, these same people, in different circumstances, would choose not to be seen with each other! Remember Hacienda Luisita? The militant farmers supported by the left against the Aquino family? Remember the past election, when the opposition was divided between FPJ and Panfilo Lacson? Is this unity? No! The moment PGMA steps down, the "United Opposition", the "Bukluran para sa Katotohanan", or whatever these people call their desperate alliance, will fragment into squabbling factions vying for the vacated seat of power. And you think that the country is in trouble now?

Why in the world are they instigating another "People Power" revolt? Because of the still unauthenticated "Gloria Tapes"? Because of the testimonies of self-admitted criminals? What a load of crap. The junking of the impeachment complaint was also the oppositions fault. Let's face it, if they had filed their complaint in the House of Representatives first instead of bombarding the people through the media with weekly exposes and whistleblowers with the obvious aim of fomenting another "People Power" then we would be gearing up for an impeachment trial in the Senate by now! And why foment anarchy? Why destabilize the government? In a time of global economic crisis due to skyrocketing oil prices, why jeopardize the already shaky economy? Why divide a country? We seem so adept at uniting against each other instead of coming together as one people. We seem to be so hell-bent on getting our own way that in the process we forget the well-being of the nation.

We don't need this "People Power" to solve our problems. We don't need more bickering and mudslinging, whistleblowers and exposes. We only need to set aside our differences. Find solutions instead of finding faults. Initiate dialogue instead of conflict. Come together as one nation; one people with one purpose. Stability, prosperity, unity; those should be our goals, not how many people we can draw to the streets! We have the power to achieve a higher level of democracy, one which we claim to have yet seldom put into practice. That is a true democracy, where the people work together in the best interests of the entire nation. "People Power" revolts are a thing of the past. If we are to prove our maturity as a society, we should learn to follow the rule of law. We should make democracy work in our country; not in the anarchical and disruptive "parliament of the streets", but within the order and structure of our Constitution.