Belittling the gains of Asean 2017

Batas Mauricio

REALLY, it has become very difficult to please Filipinos nowadays, especially those who think they know everything. Imagine, even if the recently concluded Asean 2017 paved the way for achieving a truly peaceful Philippines, Asia, and the world, critics of the Duterte government are nevertheless having a field day heaping insults on the President, even on the most mundane and trivial matters about the event.

Among these criticisms, which bordered on the inane, centered on the clinking of the wine glasses of President Duterte and US President Trump during the toast for the 50th gala dinner for the Asean, or on the alleged lack of warmth in the handshakes of the President with the other guests at the gala dinner, or on the supposed lack of immediate economic return for the billions that the Philippines spent for the affair.

What the critics are not saying though is that, the greatest benefit that the Philippines and all Filipinos received from Asean 2017 is the opportunity given to our President to shake the hands of different world leaders, particularly those from the US and China. This has given us the chance to discuss whatever problems we may have with the countries whose leaders came for Asean 2017 in a friendly and civil manner, without the need of resorting to unnecessary violence to find solutions.

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If it is true that the incident involving the separation of a coach of the MRT from its companion coaches while it was travelling southwards enroute to Pasay City on Thursday was caused by sabotage, as Undersecretary Cesar Chavez of the Department of Transportation is claiming, it would be to the best interest of MRT riders that MRT operations are stopped in the meantime that the coaches are being subjected to inspection.

The very lives, safety, and welfare of hundreds of thousands of passengers using MRT everyday are being put at vunnecessary risk with each trip on its coaches. If the coaches are not inspected right away and MRT trips are not stopped, certain death awaits our hapless countrymen if a bigger accident hits.

At the same time, DOTr should exert all efforts to identify the saboteurs. They must be immediately removed from the service, sued for graft, and are stopped from being named to any other government post again all their lives. If they have any record of shabu abuse, they should be made to suffer the fate of hundreds of shabu users who ended up liquidated, my barber told me, since these saboteurs do not have any right to live longer than one minute.

On the other hand, newsman Rolly Carandang made a call in his Facebook account for President Duterte to intervene in the MRT problem now. Here was what Carandang wrote: “…Duterte should (now) personally take charge of the MRT’s very serious illness which his valedictorian classmate DOTr Secretary Art Tugade miserably failed to cure.

“It seems Tugade lacks practical knowledge to address this malady. Admittedly, MRT’s pestering problem was inherited from (the) previous PNoy administration but it’s nonsense to repeatedly blame the unlamented previous administration…

“I think Mr President, you have to overhaul not just the MRT but the (entire) DOTr, including its head, Tugade, that you trust so much but can’t deliver. If you successfully defeated the well armed Maute and Isis terrorists in Marawi City, there’s no reason why you cant prescribe a solution to MRT trouble where bullets are not needed but your strong political will…”

I think Rolly has a point, yes Mr. President?

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With the messy environment afflicting the country nowadays, Filipinos are now at a loss as to what to do or whom to approach to overcome the many problems which seem to drown them day by day. Many of them could not seek the help of those in government, especially if our citizens do not know or are not allied with anyone in the bureaucracy.

And neither will they be able to approach those in the private sector, since these privileged individuals will simply say they really have no obligation to extend any assistance to anyone and that, instead of helping others whom they do not even know, they would just be looking after the welfare of their close friends or their loved ones. Given this situation, it would be clear that our unfortunate citizenry would only have God to turn to.

Let us read the assurances given by God that is written in Psalm 46:1-3: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging…” The only important question here is this: do we even know how to approach God to seek His help?

E-mail: batasmauricio@yahoo.com