Election just the beginning – performance is next

AFTER the din resulting from the just concluded, election. We should start analyzing the state where our nation is in. Let us separate the grain from the chaff. The best and wisely chosen elected have these platforms in common. They promised to work hard on these fronts – education, fighting poverty, employment, livelihood, health, and ideal family life. Unseen and vital, too are the actual total well-being of these candidates. They possess honesty, integrity, morality, and sincerity of these candidates. They are ideal role models who deserve the respect of their constituents. The unenlightened voters regrettably made the chaff get elected, too.

For them, the candidates used the same old dirty tricks – vote buying, goons and gold, empty promises. Usually they are the “trapos”, the infamous dynasties from north to south of the country. Thankfully, some of them had been eliminated from our midst. May their breed cease once and for all. We regret that some dynasties still reign in their own provinces with their unenlightened, beholden followers. Some of these politicians have unresolved cases in the courts. When will these end? I hope after finishing the limits of their tenures, usually nine years, they will retire. No more next of kin in the line, please. “Huwag kapit tuko.” “You just cannot leave your greed, megalomaniac psyche, and endless ambitions. “Maawa na kayo sa bayan.”

My fellow citizens, do not sell your votes. Do not live in these persistent dole-out initiative less ways of life. In the end we all suffer. Our country, instead of a brighter future will remain mediocre as it should not be. I expounded on this in one of my past columns. If we are progressing as the dailies say why are we still experiencing all the problems we have now? The exemplary winners of this election should do what they promised us.

Illiteracy is still quite high in our country. The bright side of this issue is the continuous effort of our educators to solve this. Illiteracy breeds ignorance. Mindanao is among the provinces with a high rate of illiteracy. Measures are being taken to solve this. Poverty is a paramount problem of our country. It had not been successfully solved in the last five years. The Filipinos remain poor, according to the recorded data of the yearly census. These are read in the dailies. The published news of our improving economy in the PSE is not reflected in the improvement of the lives of the poorest of the poor. There is never a sufficient take home pay of ordinary unskilled workers to feed a family of five members. The problem is compounded when there are more children to feed if well managed family planning is not taught to these poor families. Notice that this is a vicious cycle because our planners fail to see the interrelationships of these aspects of the human existence. Our winning candidates must target this.

Employment aspects are a muddled condition. So many graduates from our universities are unemployed because they do not qualify to work on the available jobs. They are mostly graduates from the business and management, accounting, IT, electronic communication courses, all sorts of white and blue collar jobs potentials. Here they work in air-conditioned offices in high rise buildings donning corporate attires.

What are really in demand are graduates in agriculture, technological practical courses, entrepreneurial work in small or medium scale industries. The Philippines is originally a progressive agricultural country with staple crops as rice, corn, and sugar cane. We had huge coconut plantations. These products were even exported to other countries. Now our land owners sold their properties at lucrative prices. The lands were developed and converted through the real estate enterprises into subdivisions with residential houses, malls, hotels, resorts and recreation centers, golf courses where they get more profits for their investments. The poor farmers are left jobless adding to the unemployed sector of our our citizens. They are deprived of their only livelihood. There is an urgent call to remedy this. Proper zoning on land use. Stop selling the farm lands. Reclaim the lands. Cure them to make them fertile once more. I am glad to hear that the Ph had its rice exported again after a

long spell. Imagine we had been importing our staple food supply to meet our needs.

We also need graduates in architecture, engineering, and related fields for our infrastructure developments, road construction, vehicles for land and sea transportation. There is a great need for meteorologists for workers in weather and climate observation centers specially in the global warming ominous effects on our lives. We have a dearth supply of graduates from these unpopular careers. The few experts we have opt to work abroad where they earn more.

Some immediate remedial measures must be taken up by our newly elected candidates . They must be planned by experts in the fields of educators, environmentalists, social workers, health officers, family life, and population management organizers. First things first. Education solves illiteracy. A nice step was done when the president signed the law on the K-12 plan on education. An educated and informed citizenry will have the means to earn a living and this will solve the problem of poverty. The unemployment rate will be lessened. The family standard of living will be improved. A family with available education, livelihood, a decent house, with enough food on the table to feed everyone is ideal. Their health will improve. No more malnutrition problem. There will be better means for sanitation, family planning and care. Availability of all social services providing places for worship or churches, recreational facilities, social groups or clubs.

Such families living in an ideal neighborhood will be a common scenario in every town or barangay. Gone will be the slum areas, squatters, families living in pushcarts. There will be no hideouts for criminals, drug addicts, alcoholics or drunkards, gamblers and the plain bums on the roads. Good families are the best foundations for an ideal nation and its government. All the laws must be obeyed and the law breakers must be prosecuted. This is our dream.

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