Reality check

My late father was 34 when I was born 40 years ago. He would have turned 75 last August 23 had he not died four months ago from a massive stroke.

I do not have a concrete idea about the opportunities available to people his age 40 years ago. That was in 1976, the height of the short-term economic gains of the Martial Law period. With a commerce degree from the University of San Carlos, my papa Roger landed an office position in the real estate business.

Life was comfortable. It was not easy, of course; we were a brood of six children both working parents had to raise. However, it was certainly not a hard situation either. We had a house in a middle class subdivision often visited and sleptover by relatives from out of town. We rode around in a company-issued jeep, and we studied in good private schools.

This was before the economy would begin to falter in the early 1980s. Crony capitalism and institutional corruption under Martial Law would later take its toll on the economy.

Life did not spiral down into poverty, but it was certainly a hard period. I was old enough to observe how papa and mama struggled to keep us all six children in good schools and living modest, comfortable lives. Being in the real estate business, my father had the enterprise to sell our house at prime value, then buy land and build a house on an undervalued yet promising real estate location. Two years later, he would sell our house and lot at a higher value. I could remember transferring residences around Metro Cebu five times until I reached high school.

I just turned 40 early this year. Looking back from my father's experience when he was around the same age, I began to reckon with a question I hope the next generation will never have to ask again: Can an honest, ordinary man or woman expect even-handed treatment from government and society?

I've always looked up to my late father for being an honest and principled man who was willing to work hard for his family while he was still at his prime. Yet he disliked personal loyalty to anyone and he shied away from cultivating political connections. In his time, many would call his predisposition unwise. I wonder: Will it be different in my time?

The reason why I ask these questions is that I have noticed that most of our hopes (in fighting poverty, rising criminality and systemic corruption) or fears (of human rights violations or a return to iron rule) seem to revolve around one firebrand, strong leader. Just barely over 50 days from taking office, President Duterte has already ushered in a brand of leadership that many people think is what the country needs.

I like that he named high profile individuals allegedly linked to illegal drugs, albeit they have yet to be formally charged. I cringe at his demolition job of Senator De Lima, but I'm keenly looking into the alleged illegal drug connection. His determination to pursue peace with rebel groups is unprecedented. Some people I meet say that Duterte's war on drugs has made them feel safer now in the streets and in their neighborhood. However, there are those who say the large number of those killed in drug busts and vigilante operations is disconcerting.

President Duterte seems capable of removing the obstacles that get in the way of economic growth and peace and order. Plus his public persona suits that of a man who does not enrich himself in power and steal from his people.

This focus on Duterte, however, has diverted our attention away from the social milieu that has bogged us down for centuries. It is precisely the same social environment that exasperates any president, and, in the case of Duterte, makes him curse all the time. If he so wills it, President Duterte can accomplish many good things in six years of his administration. However, he and his entourage of Cabinet officials and Congressional allies cannot transform Philippine society.

Fact is, and I agree with some foreign and local observers on this, it will take generations to transform Philippine society away from its politics of patronage and its feudal structure that, according to Forbes, "results in 70 percent of national wealth mobilized by 40 families."

Until then, the reality is that my generation now and my father's generation before still share the same struggles.