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Puna sa unang SONA ni Pangulong Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III.
Kayo po ang boss ko.
Ito ang isa sa mga di-malilimutang kataga na tumatak sa maraming Pilipino during the inauguration of President Benigno Aquino III. Kayo, ibig sabihin, tayo, ikaw ako, kami. Opo, kabilang po kaming mga overseas Filipino workers. Kaming mga tinaguriang Bagong Bayani.
But it was surprising to know that in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), tila kinalimutan niya ang mga OFW, samantalang bukambibig niya kami noong siya ay nangangampanya pa lamang. Para sa akin, hindi na kami matawag na marginalized sector ng ating lipunan dahil sa laki ng aming populasyon, lalo na sa magnitude ng aming contribution to the Philippine economy.
Sa una, maganda ang naging daloy ng speech niya. It is right to present the facts so the people would know where he would begin. Pero sa kalaunan, naging subjective siya lalo na when he specifically mentioned the province of Pampanga’s first district receiving a large pie of the total calamity fund.
May patutsada.
Kung genuine reconciliation ang ino-offer niya as he advocates from the beginning, mas maganda sana kung naroon pa rin ang objectivity niya when it comes to his alleged inherited issues of the past administration. I believe that the people are aware of the past regime’s immeasurable and shameful crimes. There is no need to magnify them. They have been blown out of proportion.
Bakit kailangan pigain pa? Isn’t it obvious that the people needed change? And one great evidence, assuming that the recent election was clean, is none other than the president himself.
Sana man lang binigyan niya ng kahit konting sandali kaming mga OFWs kaysa sa mga bitterness niya over the past president. Sana naglatag siya ng kongkretong plataporma on helping alleviate the plight of OFWs.
Nag-abang pa naman kaming lahat at umasa sa ilalahad niyang programa para sa amin, subalit kami ay bigo!
Kunsabagay, even during his interviews after the proclamation, wala akong napanood na concrete plans para sa mga Bagong Bayani when asked by reporters during his press conferences. Yung mga sinabi niya, narinig ko na noon sa mga nag-nanais magpabango sa aminng mga OFWs.
Walang bago.
Masyadong general ang kinasaklawan ng kaniyang mga sagot, kahit man lang sana halimbawa, isang concrete action plans for returning OFWs. Kung tutusin, ‘di pa naman talaga kaya ng gobyerno ang mag-provide ng trabaho. Hindi mapigilan ng kahit sinumang uupo na preseidente ang Filipino diaspora. Ito ay dahil kakaunti ang oportunidad sa lumolobong populasyon. Kahit pa sabihin nilang maraming bagong investors, silang mga politiko pa rin ang nakikinabang at hindi ang kawawang si Juan dela Cruz.
Kaya nananawagan po sana kami kay PNoy na maglahad ng makatotohanang programa sa mga returning OFWs. At least, he will start from this. He has to consider that a large chunk of the OFW population is aging! At bilang isang bayani na nagbubuwis ng buhay para sa kanyang Inang Bayan, isn’t it fitting that we deserve a “red carpet" welcome?
Kaya lang ang problema, pagdating sa pag-generate ng income, ang bilis nilang mag-isip ng paraan para gatasan kami. Pero sa pagbibigay ng benepisyo, tila wala silang mga utak at puso!
Sure, there are benefits offered by OWWA tulad ng loan, pero pahirapan naman sa pagkuha nito. Alam ko dahil nasubukan ko na. Pati repatriation ng bangkay ng OFW, pahirapan din. Kung ‘di mo pa lapitan ang isang politiko o aasikasuhin ng employer mo, walang mangyayari. Kung buhay pa e pinahihirapan na, yung patay pa kaya? At tinatawag kaming mga Bagong Bayani ha?!
Mayroon pa silang ibang offers pero ‘di pinapaalam nang tama, kulang sa information dissemination. Saan kaya dinadala ang milyun-milyon naming contributions? Tapos balita naming mayroon na naman silang bagong i-impose sa amin na mandatory daw? Uh-oh.
Sa isang banda, I believe in PNoy’s noble intentions because I believe in the power of bloodline. I hope his future speeches will include us and will not be just purely rhetoric and his promises, ephemeral.
But his desire for clean and honest governance must be contagious enough to infect everyone. And I mean everyone. From his allies to his enemies, from his fans to his detractors, even to the perennial thieves, who by the way, still enjoy plundering the country’s wealth, down to the lowly “hoi polloi" or the common tao – kasama kami siyempre, mga OFWs.
Kaya PNoy, sir, if you believe in our great role as one of the major catalysts of our nation’s economy and pride, then we don’t deserve to be ignored. Certainly not.
Reposted from GMANews.TV (11/02/2010)
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