Hot summer, cool dreams

DIE HARD III
Herman Tiu Laurel
3/27/2006



We’re facing a long hot summer, not in the geophysical sense as PAGASA announced that rains will start falling last week of May, which may be earlier than when we faced El Niño rather than the La Niña we’re having this year. But the political weather is going to be searing judging by the way its starting this summer, with the scorching splurging for the people’s initiative by Gloria Arroyo and the usual villain of political machinations Ronnie Puno of hundreds of millions, and maybe even billions possibly of supposedly retired pesos as Sen. Pimentel warns.

What Gloria wouldn’t do to get her way, even if she burns the country to ground. She seems to believe she can lie her way through with the manipulated economic statistics and with the help of the corrupt media she has been feeding from her hands since January 2001 (including that radio man in a Catholic station now a director at the SBMA, whom we mention because he’s simply nauseatingly sanctimonious on air). We should dwell briefly on the twisted statistics just so everyone sees the chicanery of the “economic progress” Gloria has delivered.

Popo Villanueva, among the very few reliable radio people, texted the latest twisted unemployment data by Gloria’s statisticians that claim 7.7% unemployment for 2005, down from the average of 11.4% from 2001 to 2004. That’s a big lie and everybody knows it, but they come up with such distortions just so she and her shrinking band of believers and pay hacks can have something to hold on to in the face of already ear-splitting criticisms of her performance. What Gloria has done is redefine “employment” to include, among other things, unpaid agricultural family workers

The distorted reporting of the bigger economic stats is even worse, as an ex-Neda chief pointed out using “gross domestic expenditures” approach that last year’s growth may have hit only 3.4% and not even the more conservative 4.7% that Gloria’s economists claim (some of them claim 5.1%). Then the 2005 trade deficit is also now being revised upward by more than half. No matter how bad the lying and how often it is exposed Gloria needs to keep lying, not only expecting to fool the people but to provide the little cabals still collaborating with her justification to hang in there with her.

The prosperous and good life for the vast majority of our people can only be a dream, unless one leaves the country or is “in” with the rackets of those in power. Gloria is certainly no longer the “dream” of her countrymen, even her favorites down South in the Visayas has given her 48% negative rating and 55% in Mindanao as the latest SWS survey reports. This despite the many favors she has been giving the favored families of Cebu where the Aboitizes and her henchman at a government employees insurance system have manipulated billions in stock trading and deposits for whooping profits!

Dream, we must. While it is difficult for the nation to dream in the face of mounting economic hardship, one of duties of the intelligentsia is to keep stoking that dream of a better country and a better life. It is important to motivate the people to greater heights. The mention of “dream” brings me to PMA graduation valedictorian, orphan 2nd Lt. Ariel Toledo who says his dream propelled him to top his class. Good he is not one of FVR’s “dreamless” man. What does Toledo dream now? To be like a cheating Gen. Esperon, a stealing Gen. Garcia, or a dreaming Honasan, Gen. Lim or Col. Querubin?

2nd Lt. Ariel Tolentino must be aware of the crises around him and in the AFP, which way will he decide to dream now – to dream only for his self or dream for an orphaned nation and people that has lost parenting leaders. The euphoria of the graduation must have overcome all other emotions, but among those watching the PMA graduation there was revulsion seeing a stealing, cheating, plundering and fascistic fake president shaking the hands of the best and the brightest of our young soldiers. Baguio sizzled with GMA’s security mania, but the cadets stayed cool.

So, this is Filipino summer this year; how is it in other emerging economies? The political climate in Thailand may be a little cooler as Thaksin has shown openness to change, but the economic and physical temperature of Thais will certainly be cooler as its Supreme Court has thumbed down the 25% privatization of its energy company EGAT and avoided the profiteering from electricity. One of the factors for Thaksin’s fall from popular grace is his push for privatization of electricity – the Thais have learned from the Philippine privatization tragedy.

Venezuelans will cool down after President Krichner kicked out the privatized waterworks concessionaire that was the Lopezes’ partner in Maynilad too, Suez SA, through one of its subsidiaries. Kirchner rescinded the 30-year contract accusing Suez of failing ot make required improvements, at the same time Suez was exposed for dirty financial dealings and fraud (surf the Internet to get all these). Venezuela was victimized by a decade of privatization under leaders like Cory, FVR and Gloria, now they’re reversing course. We should reverse course too, that’d be so cool to dream!

(My 1098AM radio shows, M-W-F 6-7pm and daily 5-6am)