Changing the name will not work

What’s in a name? Benham Rise. Do you seriously think China will change its coarse of actions if we change the name to Philippine Rise?

China continues to feel its supremacy over the region. The mentality of the people especially the older ones is different from the younger ones. Theirs was a great civilization defeated by the Western world. And now that they have come back, they are reclaiming what they think was theirs when the West claimed it during their weakest period. Their history tells them that many areas surrounding their region belong to them. They continue to live in the past unaffected by international laws.

So, why waste your time in renaming the Rise. We must create more ways to strengthen our maritime powers to protect our land. Lip service won’t do us any good. Our congressmen and senators always want to talk. They must study and perfect the laws and study how they should be strictly and carefully implemented. How they should prioritize the budget and not just approve things for their own glory or caprice. Yes, talk about the Space Program (P25 billion) – can’t get over that one!

What are our country’s top priorities? National security, Peace and Order, Education, Agriculture, Infrastructure, etc. But if you take a closer look at the 2017 budget, defense only gets 4.41 percent of the budget ($3.17 billion or P147.76 billion) compared to social services which gets 40.14 percent ($28.89 billion or P1.35 trillion); economic services which gets 27.78 percent ($19.85 billion or P923.95 billion); and general public services which gets 17.37 percent ($12.5 billion or P581.84 billion).

My point is without a good development program of defense and a hefty budget, our Philippine Coast Guards will continue to have to sing the national anthem in the middle of the sea to defend our country. Susmariosep!

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Aside from our beautiful country, we must also save our valiant Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). Our government clearly developed a trade out of them. It seems that their remittances are not enough to be a big contributing factor to our economy. The government continues to milk them with too many requirements before leaving the country and expecting them to check in following a process upon their return. Sanamagan!

President Duterte already announced his plan to improve their plight but nothing has change except for the one-stop-shop at the POEA. The problem is the countless requirements. Why make it so tedious, difficult and expensive for them?

The main purpose of the OSSCO is to speed up the processing of relief assistance, particularly of government agencies such as the POEA and TESDA. It is a welcome move for the OFWs but I still think many procedures of the POEA are unnecessary. Why are there too many requirements to begin with? In other countries, nationals can work abroad with a working permit/contract. They must also continue to pay their taxes. You apply for a working visa and follow customs and immigration requirements. Why do we need a POEA? Their goal is to promote and monitor the overseas employment of Filipino workers. Isn’t this the function of embassies abroad? By having this agency, government becomes too controlling of the steps needed to get a job overseas. Every step comes with a price just like in other government entities. In fact, they continue to come up with new directives or orders just to collect more money (from the barangay level, municipal level to the national level) from us. Aren’t our taxes enough? It is very expensive to be a regular law abiding citizen in this country. We also have too many stops before getting to our destination whether for working abroad, building a house, starting up a business, etc. Even the dead Filipinos cannot rest in peace because there are too many requirements ( and expensive inheritance tax) for their families to accomplish before getting back to the normalcy of life.

Anyway, going back to our OFWs, can you imagine what a domestic helper has to go through just to work abroad? He needs to first get a pre-departure orientation seminar, then, comprehensive pre-departure evaluation program. He must secure a national certificate from TESDA and undergo medical examinations. Do you really think these sessions will make them exceptional or successful workers? In any case, why not make these services free of charge?

Take a good look again at all your requirements and procedures. Are they all worth the time, the effort and the expenses for an OFW? Isn’t government over-doing itself and impinging on the human right of every OFW? The whole system of the POEA must be revisited. It is such a tedious and nerve-racking experience not to mention, a seemingly money-making venture.

Time and again we hear people say that our OFWs are the new heroes of the country. If so, the government must treat them as such. They must be served with respect and be given the dignity they deserve.

Our society today is embattled with inconsistencies. We have become a confused lot in these trying times. For many months, we have been besieged by endless Senate inquiries, rumors of destabilization, lawmakers fighting like spoiled little brats, etc. We are living in pretty muddled times.

This prevailing atmosphere of uncertainty and confusion is not good. Local and foreign investors are having second thoughts on investing in the country. The continuing conflict in Mindanao has contributed significantly to the loss of business confidence amounting to billions of dollars in potential investments and tourist revenues are affected.

The unemployment rate in the Philippines rose to 6.6 percent in the first quarter of 2017 from 4.7 percent in the December quarter. Among employed persons, workers in the services sector made up 57.1 percent of the total, followed by those in the agriculture sector (25.5 percent) and the industry (17.4 percent).

The peso’s value has been plummeting at an unexpected pace. The economy has still not grown to keep pace with our runaway population growth, forcing families to break up because one or both parents are compelled to work abroad to earn enough to feed, clothe and educate their children. We brag about our 1.2 million OFWs, who are keeping us afloat, and yet, government continues to charge them with exorbitant fees for every requirement not to mention the unnerving social costs.

What is happening to our leaders? Are they seriously working? Are they really helping the country improve its systems? As my late father Max Soliven would quipped, “What we may have right now is a cauldron of social discontent that could boil over, or be exploited by leftwing, radical elements, while our politicians bicker endlessly on everything that they calculate could capture media attention and advance their selfish political fortunes.” Sanamagan!