A Thousand Miles Behind

I’m pretty sure a lot of Filipinos saw the news broadcasts tonight on how Our Very Own President lambasted the Supreme Court and on how Mo Twister and Rhian Ramos are squaring it off (that’s another story altogether, hehe). But seriously, I am getting tired of this irritating habit of Our Dear President of blaming others for his administration’s underachievement. 

Before I procede any further, I will lay down my cards. In the presidential elections I have participated in, I voted for Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (twice) and Richard Gordon (for the most recent). I voted for GMA since I thought she was a lesser evil and the safe choice, then it turned out she wasn’t. In the last election, I voted according to my gut, even if it was a losing vote. I didn’t vote for Our President because frankly, his track record (or lack thereof… Lito Lapid outperforms him in Congress, maygad) doesn’t bode well with me. Moving on…

Our President’s platform ever since was really clear from the beginning: Cleaning the government of scum. He intended to be a transformative leader, a person who leads by example. For the first months of his tenure, he fired people, rearranged departments, created a commission to prosecute the previous administration. All that may be fine and well, but it didn’t really do anything. The people he replaced the people he fired aren’t really any better. Nor is he any better than the president he replaced. Well, PNoy did outdo all other presidents in one thing: blaming everyone else for his “foibles”.  I mean, yeah, sure, it is human nature to poke at other people’s f*ck-ups, but come on, you have to take responsibility at some point. This habit of his doesn’t stop and he does it oh-so publicly. 

Basically, according to Our President, everything wrong with the Philippines now is the fault of the Arroyos. He reminds us of that, every chance he could get. Today, he said he can’t take his plans off the ground because the Supreme Court stikes down his every move. This bubble he lives in may be attributed to three things: One, he surrounded himself with Yes Men; Second, he doesn’t own an actual and/or metaphysical mirror to look at his own faults; and Third, he just doesn’t have a clue. 

It’s never really his fault, isn’t it? That little “incident” last month involving his alter-ego, the Secretary of (In)Justice, no, not his fault. That Grandstand thing and all the aftermath? The dysfunction of our land reform laws when it involves Hacienda Luicita? Yes, he will soon attack Congress. When he done with all of the members of the opposition, he will put blame to his own allies…. At the rate he’s going, he is going to blame the Filipino people for voting him to office. Geez, get a grip. Personally, I feel embarrassed on how immaturely he handles his politics. I think he needs to hire a PR person to screen all his speeches. Every time Our President speaks, oh we know what it will be about: That it’s not his fault we’re in this mess. Never is there talk of actually getting us out of it. He barely brags about his achievements, because there is none. What’s supremely unfair is that he may not even understand what he’s talking about. Then maybe he does, plays upon the emotions of the masses and appeal to their sympathies. 

At the end of the day, the mess our country’s in isn’t PNoy’s fault. Oh no, I refuse to take that road of a legacy of blame Our President took. I refuse to blame every effin’ politico who ripped us off. That’s just a waste of energy. It’s simple. We should just start take responsibility for our own actions. Change lies in our hands, not our leaders. None of them have a clue, so why bother. The power is ours. 

I guess we just have to live our lives the most honorably as we can in the service of our country. That’s all we could ever do. The simple act of being honest will go a long way. You know, like not cheating in tests, standing in line, that sort of thing. I think it’s funny because I can still remember that queuing in line was not in vogue a decade ago. Now, everyone of us hates line-cutters. So yeah, with tiny steps, we will effin’ get there. If every Filipino could do that, maybe someday, PNoy would stop blaming everyone else and then start taking credit for a change.