In recent days, it has become all the more clear how much local elected officials and many of the elites in the Philippines truly have no regard for the welfare of their fellow citizens. Have witnessed one group of family members take a trip to the United States and another returning to the Philippines for the first time in many years, with both echoing a lot of the sentiment published in this column after their ability to draw first-hand comparisons between life here and abroad.
The reason one can draw such parallels with evaluating how elected officials or wealthy business owners operate in their positions is because many (if not all) of them have made similar trips and have seen life in the developed world; yet, instead of trying to implement programs to improve the local situation, they pretend the status quo is already perfect – primarily because they are the ones in charge.
Family members who have been living in the California after legally migrating several years ago made observations of the traffic situation where they live, remarking on the hassle of bumper-to-bumper traffic during rush hour. However, traffic there is nothing like traffic here.
There, much like the personal experience of living in New Jersey for nearly 20 years, traffic problems typically stem from congestion – a universal issue. What makes Bacolod City unique is, beyond congestions, there are the hazards of jeepney and tricycle operators affecting the flow of traffic with their ever-fluctuating speeds and erratic swerving; the practice of “counterflow,” or driving against traffic – in other countries, the only time people drive on the wrong side of the road is because they are drunk; pedestrians who could care less about oncoming traffic and blindly cross the street despite the risks involved; among other eccentricities.
While other countries may implement measures to ensure a smooth flow of traffic and promote safety for city residents; locally, either it is completely ignored or ordinances are passed but never enforced – they are merely introduced for cosmetic purposes. It makes no sense that one of the actual solutions to traffic congestion concocted by government officials was consulting with car dealers because, for them, it is only a matter of “too many cars on the road” – elected officials have no right to tell a retailer not to sell a product that is otherwise not causing harm to the general public; it edges on authoritarianism.
Jeepney and tricycle operators, on the other hand, are nothing but nuisances on the road, yet they go about their business with no repercussions for the multitude of road incidents they nearly cause on the daily basis. Clearly, it helps when one has the ability to organize as a strong voting bloc.
When it comes to business leaders, there is also the matter of the availability of products and the presentation of goods that is severely lacking locally. This is not to infer a need for more signature products on the local market, on the contrary, there is a need for quality basic goods.
Across the country, the market is flooded with cheap goods that are known to breakdown after only a few months or a couple years of use. On the one hand, businesses seem to only want to provide their customers with cheap goods, it’s cheaper for them and because of the poor quality, customers are forced to continually purchase the same goods over and over again – it’s a win-win for the business owner.
However, this also stems back to government.
In a 2009 piece for GMA News by economist and broadcaster Winnie Monsod, she discussed the pitfalls of countries that implement policies like price controls.
“Not only did imposing controls not work, they also caused additional damage, such as continued shortages and crime, and the encouragement of corrupt practices,” she wrote.
“Suppose that the demand and supply for a basic commodity, say rice, are balanced at the current price, and that the government then fixes a lower maximum price,” Monson explained. “The quantity of rice supply will decrease because the producers – whose costs are higher than the maximum price – cannot, of course, be forced to sell their products at a loss.”
Another family member noted her favorite place to visit in the United States was the supermarket.
In the US, the variety of products is massive and the produce section is bright and vibrant. Walk through any of the supermarkets in Bacolod City and one will find produce that is three or four times the price at the local market and a lot of it is spoiled or a manipulated in size because the rotten parts have been cut off. Why do supermarkets, considered to be a “higher class” than shopping at a public market, sell such shabby merchandise? Is it because of this understood esteem they believe they can sell whatever they want and their status-conscious clientele will buy into it? If that’s the case, then the onus is on a superficial public in this case, giving liberty to companies to shortchange their patrons.
Living here for nearly five years, the comparisons in life are night and day. What is refreshing is hearing stories of people who are able to make the same appraisals based on their experiences – it’s no longer a lone voice in a crowd. Plus, it’s not just the United States, family friends who took a trip to Scotland a while back to visit their family, being their first time overseas, it was an eye-opening experience to see what it was like outside the country – not sight-seeing, but regular life.
Given the average individual can see such contrasts, why are elected officials and business leaders so blind to it?
Family members and Filipino friends overseas who experienced life in the Philippines and have since left have all but lost hope in the country. They see the same people being elected and the same stagnant nature of the country – something very apparent in these last four and some-odd years; especially getting first-hand exposure to two elections.
Even in the developed world, there is concern over the chasm between rich and poor; but in the Philippines, it is the difference between the elite and the destitute. Elected officials all enjoy their trips abroad, many times publishing it on social media or even having the local newspaper report on it; yet, when they come home and see the wide gap between the two worlds, they do nothing about it. Can only surmise they believe they are the only ones who have traveled overseas or have access to seeing what it is like abroad and it is with this perceived privilege they prey on the local population by making them believe the current situation is what “progress” looks like. The arrogance of the political class and the elites (on most occasions, one and the same) knows no bounds./WDJ