Doublespeak

DIE HARD III
Herman Tiu Laurel
10/11/10



Headlines last Saturday focused on the doubling of the congressional “pork barrel” through an extra P50 million allocated for each congressman, over and above the regular P70-million take, in exchange for “looking the other way on Aquino’s non-transparent lump sum appropriations in the tens of billions.” Also highlighted was the gargantuan concession by the Palace to now Rep. Gloria Arroyo — ostensibly for the same reason — of P2.2 billion in public works “pork” while adjacent congressional districts got measly amounts of a million or two.

These latest adjustments in the pork barrel already included amounts to appease several Visayan congressmen who earlier stonewalled the approval of the budget when they decried the “raw deal” they got from being left out of the huge pie. But that’s not all: All congressmen (save for those from the party-lists) will now get P25 million each from the Road Users Tax!

Everybody in Congress, especially that grimacing little Gloria, is now very happy — except for the public that’s sure to seethe over this. But getting mad is not going to change things unless there’s a physical revolt.

At least Aquino III is fulfilling his promise of “change,” except that it is not the “change” people expected of him during the campaign. As one Yellow mainstream daily headlined, Aquino III is sure to face the challenge of “Changing (the) old system;” but he’s doing it only for the worse — with more pork, more compromises with his avowed target, and more doublespeak than Gloria ever uttered in her first 100 days in 2001.

So what’s the point of forming the “Truth Commission” when even this early, Aquino III is already engaged in heavy horse trading with Gloria to get Malacañang’s lump sum appropriations through Congress? That’s another confirmation that Arroyo exercises tremendous clout in the Lower House; and I am not surprised, as the Speaker is an Arroyo crony himself.

All told, the whole system is a system of doublespeak, and the Filipino people would do well to put that in their minds and totally dismiss anything the caboodle of politicians, particularly the top honchos, will ever again say to the public.

My purpose of engaging in a continuing public discourse through radio, cable TV, and writing is to expose the doublespeak, the lies, which people are subjected to each and every moment of the day. A nation simply cannot survive on doublespeak; as vision cannot arise from lies. It is my hope that the Filipino people and the various social leaderships that are not party to this system of lies may come together and exterminate the lowlifes that have wormed their way into the corridors of power.

Last Friday night, in our celebration with close friends, one of the subjects that came up was the budget cut of P1.2 billion from the University of the Philippines, described by former UP president Dodong Nemenzo as “paralyzing.” This was discussed alongside the “K+12” plan of Aquino I+2II’s Bro. “Damaso,” Armin Luistro, that was heavily criticized as the increase in the overall education budget of P2 billion will only go to such a scheme that is overwhelmingly rejected by parents and public school teachers alike. We all agreed that since Luistro admonishes parents to look at “K” not as a burden but as an investment, he should first become a parent to know what he’s preaching about.

Ultimately, arguments for “K+12” center on “conforming to international practice” — yet another euphemism for globalization. So the best counter argument: Adding two years to poor quality education is still two more years of poor quality education!

Speaking of education, a surefire budget for “wrong education” is found in the huge increase for the Arroyo-esque “cash transfers” program. As an old Chinese saying goes, “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, but teach a man to fish and he will feed himself forever,” it appears that neither Aquino III nor Dinky Soliman wants the Filipino poor to learn how to fish. By slashing the budget that higher education rightfully deserves, only to divert this to dole outs, thus “dumbing” down the people, the DSWD should now be called the “Department of Social Welfare Dependency.”

But wait: Given the huge increase in its budget, the DSWD now even has a housing component. As a result, the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council must be crying over scraps while Dinky thanks her lucky stars profusely. Why, she now has the wherewithal to buy several 4x4 pick-ups to spread her dole outs. And even as she continues to deny that these are SUVs (only “trucks,” without ever mentioning the brand), any idiot will know that a 4x4 pick-up is also an SUV! Another doublespeak again.

PS — I lost my main cellphone last week and won’t be able to respond nor act on requests for a while. I committed to see some visitors to Manila from Mindanao referred by Dionisio Lopez of Zamboanga. Although I am very eager to meet with them, I hope Diony will understand my predicament. If the visitors are still in Manila by the time this column reaches Diony, he can text me at 0922-8797627. Regular texters can also send their reactions and suggestions to this number, especially those who send their views for our radio program discussions.

(Tune in to Sulo ng Pilipino, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on 1098AM; watch Politics Today, Tuesday, 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., with replay at 11 p.m. on Global News Network, Destiny Cable Channel 21; visit our blogs, http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com and http://hermantiulaurel.blogspot.com)