Remember this November

NOVEMBER is a month to remember. Who could forget supertyphoon Yolanda which struck Eastern Visayas and cut through other regions in November, 2013?

Who could forget the man-made calamity that was the Aquino government’s response to the killer storm – a response personally headed by yellow polo shirt-wearing Mar Roxas?

It was also a November day, when President BS Aquino rushed back to Manila when word got out that the Supreme Court outlawed PDAF and also threatened DAP. The Pork Barrel King hurriedly fled just hours after he promised the good people of Tacloban that he wouldn’t leave until great strides were made to fix his government’s awful response to the disaster.

We must remember because Daang Matuwid’s ineptitude and politicking transformed Yolanda into a man-made calamity. Remember: The tens of thousands deprived of immediate relief; the number of casualties ordered to be brought down; billions of taxpayer funds unaccounted for; warehouses full of relief goods left to rot; rival politicos deprived of government aid; promises not kept; incompetents shielded from accountability; Eastern Visayas excluded in employment/unemployment figures; and the fact that many still live in temporary shelters two years after disaster struck.

We must remember because Daang Matuwid used PDAF and later DAP to corrupt Congress. Remember: the PDAF scam and how selective the prosecution has been; the refusal to obey the high court’s ruling against DAP; the pork barrel defense by President Aquino and Abad; the deliberate underspending of the budget just so President Aquino would have lots of DAP and similar pork barrel funds; the meeting of Sec. Garin assuring lawmakers that there will still be pork barrel despite the court’s rulings; and the billions in lump-sum appropriations (new pork!) in the 2016 budget.

We must remember because 44 SAF lives were offered by President Aquino in a US-inspired suicide operation. Remember that a suspended police chief “advised” the president/ BFF and the acting police chief; that Aquino deprived the arriving caskets of a proper presidential welcome; that he made relatives and the nation wait for him at a public tribute; that up to now, justice is elusive. Remember too how Roxas allowed himself to be humiliated by being excluded in the operation and not raising hell about it.

We must remember because the victims of the Zamboanga siege continue to suffer. Remember the false promise of permanent housing supposedly ready a month after the 2014 SONA, the spread of prostitution and the absence of justice. Remember Roxas’ “happy anniversary” greetings.

We must remember the high tax rates and other evidence of limited, elitist, and overstated economic growth. Remember the refusal to lower taxes by both Aquino and Roxas; the doctored statistics about employment and unemployment; the refusal to raise the minimum wage and the salaries of state workers; the hikes in government fees; the unchecked increases of oil prices and rates for water and electricity; the publicly funded partnerships for private gain; the refusal to raise pensions; the hikes in premiums; the hikes too in tuition fees even for state schools; and the attempt to tamper with balikbayan boxes in search of new sources of taxes.

We must remember the breakdown of public transportation, especially in Metro Manila. Remember how, from Mar Roxas to Jun Abaya, the DOTC pampered the private MRT owners and the private maintenance provider; how the government allowed the steady decline of the MRT; the big MRT-LRT rate hikes; and the handsome deal with yet another private consortium for the LRT, LRT extension and the new ticketing system; the worsening traffic in Metro Manila; the atrocious conditions of airports (even as government continue to raise terminal fees); the absence of plans to alleviate the plight of commuters; the insensitivity during repeated Carmageddons; and more.

We must remember Daang Matuwid’s culture of impunity that protect malefactors, murderers, the corrupt, or the incompetent. Remember the more than 100 lumads and other indigenous peoples killed at the altars of counterinsurgency, foreign mining, and foreign plantations; the over 200 activists, defenders, lawyers, and journalists; the failure or refusal to go after the killers; the pampering and protection of the likes of Abad, Abaya, and allies linked to the PDAF and DAP scams; the failed prosecution of former President Arroyo; the defense of Jennifer Laude’s rapist/killer Pemberton; and the refusal to pass the Freedom of Information Law.

We must remember Daang Matuwid’s penchant for “blame game”: Always Arroyo’s fault – or the media, or the opposition, or the communists, or the weather. Remember the absence of accountability.

We must remember because some say the 2016 elections would be a “Great Referendum.” Those who say this expect to win if we forget. Thus, we need to remember so that we would not forget why we have repeatedly risen up against Aquino and why Roxas could only muster a maximum of 20 percent support in surveys – or why 80 percent are looking at other candidates.

November is almost here. Remember our heroes and those who died due to state negligence or state terrorism. Remember how many times we said “no more” and “never again.” Remember the false promises and the lies. Remember that we deserve better.

Because only by remembering and by not forgetting would we be able to say: No to another six years of the past five years. No to continuing the disastrous and elitist Daang Matuwid. Yes to change. Yes to something better.

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