Political Rant

The Unversity of the Philippines is well known for student activism. While I was catching up on my Histo II class, a group of students were shouting slogans against the infamous budget cuts on the UP. The academe has the reputation of instilling nationalism among its students. Every year it pumps out fresh graduates full of cause and idealism. It's ironic, however, to think that out of the same university comes great minds that corrupt the government. Eighty percent of officials who work for the government graduated from the UP. I'm not implying that all of them are corrupt. But there are bad people out there. A famous example would be President Marcos. He was a UP graduate, a top notcher in the bar exams even, and his legacy - he drowned our country in debt. Something we will never be out of for a long time.

One would ask what was wrong? Marcos had the makings of a great president. He was intelligent and eloquent. He could give impromptu speeches. There was no other Filipino president like him. But contrary to what Plato says, in my opinion, intelligence should not be the sole and foremost basis in leadership. However I'm not saying that we should vote for the not-so-intelligent people. Our country has already experienced the opposites. Look at Erap and Marcos, they were different from each other but they shared the same fate, didn't they? It takes heart, not intelligence, to be a good leader. He must have a servant attitude. One will never know how to lead, unless they first learn how to serve.

In our Soc Sci II class we discussed Platonic views on the ideal government. On his writings about the government, Plato talked about the restrictions in leadership. Our prof identified the items using her so-called spidey principles. Basically to become a good leader, one must live an austere life. An idea so far-fetched in the Philippine setting. Privileges is synonymous to a high-ranking official. It comes in different forms, from pork barrels to travel tickets paid by the government. But with money flowing everywhere one could only want more. Hence the corruption that's polluting our country. It has spread in every government department even in the AFP. Millions of tax payer's money are wasted in building private properties for the leisure of the selfish and corrupt officials. Leadership is not about privileges. But tell that to the senators and congressmen out there and they'll tell you you're crazy. No wonder it's hard for them to let go of the disputed pork barrel. They'll be losing their source of revenue. Take away the incentives and privileges in politics and you'll have a scarcity of politicians. Why would a person be a congressman or a senator anyway? Money is always the issue here. Seldom do they run for these positions because of genuine desire to serve the people. I guess it's one of the reasons why our country never progresses. But there is always hope. As Rizal would say it only takes civic consciousness and a national identity for a country to be really independent. And when each and every Filipino share those two qualities, there is more than hope. That itself is a solution.

This entry was posted on November 26, 2004 at 7:49 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.