Taking stock

At the end of the year, we usually take stock of the arbitrary 12-month period behind us, assessing whether we’re better or worse off. Whether we’re learned some life lesson. Whether we need to tweak ourselves a bit for the better (or, for the bitter, when all we can think of is to exact revenge).

But it’s true what they say. What a difference a year makes. As we survey the landscape, we see that all is not well in the political front. Oh boy. Oh girl. The past year has seen us go from creaky democracy to absolute shambles, with bombshell after bombshell, landmine after landmine, and yes, more deaths from floods, volcanoes, and earthquakes by naive voters, those innocent lambs who pinned their trust on their patrons, and who thought their votes would somehow secure their safety.

Yet despite the noise and the fury, not much else has been accomplished.

Sure, many senators and congressmen, legislators previously thought untouchable and who kept in winning seats despite obviously dismal records, have fallen. Their reputations, formerly unassailable, are in tatters. Their stolen billions will no longer be used to purchase luxurious European apartments and ritzy Manhattan townhouses, but will have to be deployed to rebuild their brands. At least, they’ll be pump priming the local economy instead of funneling those billions outwards.

But that’s hardly enough. That won’t help the average Juan one bit. Who cares if this rotten crop goes, if they’re just replaced with other rotten crops? From one corrupt patriarch or matriarch to their corrupted children, siblings and relatives?

There haven’t been convictions of those thieving crocs. Billions, if not trillions, are still missing, still safely hidden in vaults and bank accounts, if not stashed abroad. There is one dead public official, the circumstances surrounding her apparent suicide now swirling with rumors and conspiracy theories.

Our infrastructure is still shoddy, and guess what? That independent commission set up to find facts? You know, the ICI? The one supposed to help us follow the money trail, to point fingers, and to pin blame? Well, only one member is left, as all the others have resigned. As many have predicted, it was going to be a dud. An illusion set up for us to pin our hopes on and divert our slavering jowls.

Despite the theater that surrounded it, the parade of witnesses and the oh-so-important testimonies supposedly received, the ICI is an abject failure, and we are back to square one. How many rotten tomatoes does this deserve?

My fairy godmother says look at the bright side. Look for the positive, instead of dwelling on the negatives. As we do the environmental scan on the year that was, we do see all those incompetent engineers yet more than competent crooks in DPWH fired. With the suspension of that weaponized letters of authority, we see those BIR field personnel muzzled, and hopefully, they also get fired.

We see congressmen who have fled, and their offspring, now thankfully quiet on social media instead of littering the internet with their profligate presence, grossing us out with their insane consumption of luxury goods that would feed families for years. We see an ombudsman cracking the whip, and a new secretary of the DPWH making inroads.

So yes, there is something to be thankful for this end of 2025. But by golly, don’t you think these are just crumbs? Don’t we deserve so much more?

How about a fantastic transportation system? Flood-free roads that allow us to zip from one end of the metropolis to the other in minutes? Crystal clear, rubbish-free beaches and pristine forests free of illegal loggers and land grabbers? A wealth of high-paying jobs, and students fed nourishing education that allows them to compete in the world arena? Discerning voters who can distinguish bull from earnest promises? Judges who ain’t afraid of their own shadow (or of being impeached)?

How about social media that’s free from disinformation and fake news? How about legislation that’s (effectively!) banned dynasties? And healthcare that prioritizes patients instead of glorifying administrators, with incredibly advanced hospitals and well-paid staff?

Manifesting all these in 2026.