“There is Battle Outside and it is Raging!”
“Come senators, congressmen/ Please heed the call/ Don’t stand in the doorway/ Don’t block up the hall/ Will he that gets hurt/ Will be he who has stalled/ There is a battle outside/ And it is ragin’/ It will soon shake your windows/ and rattle your walls/ For the times they are a changing”
These are some lines from the song, “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” popularized by Bob Dylan, an American famous folk singer-activist who together with anti-war activists spearheaded a movement to stop USA’s imperialistic engagement in Vietnam War in the 60’s. Who would believe that after 60 years, the song would still be very relevant especially here in our country, this time however, it is one to remind our legislators to take heed of the call of the people to rectify social wrongs especially on the alleged 30,000 victims of Extra-Judicial Killings on the war on drugs, the misuse of hundreds of millions if not billions of pesos of public funds, the worsening poverty, unemployment/under-employment, worsening environmental catastrophe and what have you.
Yes, there is a battle out there and it is raging. This time in the Philippine context, it is a war against dehumanizing poverty, gross inequities, social injustices, worsening political dynasties that are perpetuated by the culture of corruption and greed, reinforced by the apathetic attitude of the people who are rendered powerless all these years.
Amazingly, there is now the dawning of a new day as the people are now undergoing an awakening process through “conscientization,” where the people have finally realized that transformational change cannot be had out of the “kindness” of the powers-that-be and of the oligarchs but through their collective power, meaningful participation and continuing vigilance. If they continue to be socially and ecologically apathetic, our country will continue to go down the drain where a few oligarchs in cahoots with the powers-that-be will have much too much while the many who are poor will have much too little, wallowing in hunger and extreme poverty. Indeed, social transformation has been so elusive all these years as the systems and structures breeding poverty are still as formidable as ever where only 200 families control the economy in cahoots with political dynasties. The billions, if not trillions of pesos allocated all these years to somehow alleviate poverty of the marginalized sectors, for example historically through the so-called PDAP, could have made a dent in making life better for the poor but struggling people, if such have not gone to the pockets of those who are already wallowing in wealth, as exemplified by the Napoles Scandal.
Confucius once said, “If we focus our attention to the finger that is pointing to the stars, we will miss the beauty of the universe.” Yes, while we decry the misuse of public funds which must be spent following the Constitutional principles of transparency and accountability, let us instead focus our advocacy on those flawed systems and structures that have given way to the deceitful and hideous commission of crimes by those in power. That being, we will have a full realization why our country which before has been described as a paradise, oozing with ecological resources, has been transformed into hell. Yes, the Filipinos were so aghast upon knowing that some billions of pesos were misused while children are going to dilapidated school buildings without books, teachers are under- paid and health centers have no appropriate medicines. Now our people are increasingly suffering from the onslaught of super typhoons as these leaders have allowed the mindless exploitation of our natural resources through the massive connivance of the cabal of vested interest, politicians and law enforcers, In full defiance of the rule of law.
Yes, where have all the 17 million hectares of natural forest gone? Gone to powerful loggers everyone! Where have all our top-quality minerals gone? Gone to powerful illegal Chinese miners everyone! Why do we allow our agricultural lands to be bombarded with toxic chemicals that are already banned internationally? Why do we allow foreign investors/corporations to wantonly exploit our natural resources with utter disregard to our ecological security and the welfare of the coming generations? It is very painful to know that billions have been lost because a few cannot moderate their greed. It is so lethal for a country to lose its ecological security, exposing all of us to ecological disasters.
Indeed, the Filipinos should not just be concerned with the massive misuse of public funds but on the laws that should have been enacted or legislated. Are these laws creating the right policy environment for sustainable development, for equity, for social justice or just to serve the interest of cartels, conglomerates and monopolies? Yes, honorable Congressmen and Senators, there are the laws that should have been enacted as called for by the 1987 Constitution which is one prohibiting political dynasties but until now after four decades, no legal measure has been passed by you. Why? Because you bow down to the interest of the oligarchs?
Yes, there is a battle out there and it is raging but our Senators and Congressmen must prove equal to the task by way of enacting laws to democratize wealth and power, to erase the ugly faces of social injustices in this country. It is emphatically and categorically declared in our Constitution that, “The State shall promote social justice in all phases of national development.” Is this pronouncement just empty rhetorics? Full of sound and fury signifying nothing?! Honorable Congressmen and Senators, ANG GAGALING NINYO MAGSALITA, PERO ANO PO ANG INYONG GINAGAWA UPANG MAPAUNLAD ANG ATING BAYAN?! LALO LANG KAYONG YUMAYAMAN HABANG GUTOM AND KARAMIHAN! Have you forgotten what King Solomon has declared in Ecclesiastes (Old Testament) when he declared that “Wealth, fame and power are meaningless, absolutely meaningless”? Paglilingkod at pagmamahalan: ang tunay na diwa ng buhay!
If social change through legislation cannot be had to liberate our people from the quagmire of hunger, poverty, gross inequities and social injustices, then let us be reminded of a social warning that says, “When a few elites will have much too much and the many who are poor have much too little, then, we might face circumstances horrible even to contemplate.” Yes, “It will soon shake your windows and rattle your walls, for the times they are a-changin’.” Believe me, transformational change is now hovering all over the world towards a socially-equitable and ecologically sustainable development where money must be used not to make more money but to enhance the well-being of the people. Tens of millions of concerned people in other countries have awakened and are protesting weekly against that principal disease of our time called the power of money, perpetuated by the One Percent Regime called the “Masters of mankind,” who are advancing an economic paradigm that is giving high veneration to the profit motive at the expense of the people and the environment. Such is the urgent call of the changing times. As humanity is now in survival mood because of the power of money blinded by egotism, soon the Filipinos, as spiritual beings will also launch a peaceful compassionate revolution for transformational change as such is the essence of all religions which is ethical actions for People, Planet, Prosperity and Peace – all for God’s greater glory!
