Failed operating system
THE Philippines can be com pared to a computer that is running on an outdated operating system (OS). Its OS has been tinkered with, updated a number of times but with no significant results on both the macro-economic level and on the ground level of the quality of life of its people.
An OS can admit of only so many updates. A time comes when a new and improved OS has to be installed so the computer can meet the user’s needs of memory-size and speed.
And sure enough, a new and improved OS has long been overdue for our country. Neighbors that changed their OS, Korea, Taiwan, China, and Vietnam, have all passed us on the economic highway. Even Japan had to change OS to recover from the devastation of a lost war.
Yet, no new OS is in the works in this country. The oligarchy that so far exclusively operates our outdated OS will have none of it. The ruled on the other hand are in the throes of a colonial mentality that believes superiors are always right and must be believed when they imply that there is no need to change OS, that you only need to regularly change the people controlling it.
So, once again we are about to change people on top in the coming election. Once again our inability to think structurally or in terms of system change makes us look forward with hope to this change of controllers of our OS, makes us look forward to a “better” administration after elections.
But will the new administration (that will run on the same outdated OS) really result in an improved quality of life for majority of Filipinos? A cursory browse through the probable candidates for the presidency tells us it will not.
Manny Paquiao has the good intention. But it takes a lot more than good intention to solve the nation’s problems.
Leni Robredo’s verbal output has been rather shallow and mainly partisan. She also has not done anything that comes close to outstanding.
Ping Lacson’s past is too controversial. Too many negatives fly around his persona.
I like Sara Carpio’s feistiness. But her being partial to the Marcoses, just like her father’s, is a big negative for me and should be for the rest of the country.
I don’t know much about Bong Go. But I am sure if the Go-Duterte tandem wins, Duterte will be the de facto President.
They are all running on an anti-Duterte platform. None of them has the social philosophy and corresponding strategy to move this country forward in true developmental fashion. They promise to solve all other problems except the main one of poverty.
That would be because poverty is not really a problem to them. Our outdated OS has failed to work only for the marginalized sectors but is working fine as ever for those who take turns running it and exclusively benefit from it.