WHEN we say “masa vote” we are looking at the marginalized in our society, most of whom are citizens who do not legitimately rent or own their abode. Looking deeper into this vote brings to question its credibility. More than the mistake in identifying with silver-screen personalities, these voters are used by the politicians who go around with rhetoric and promises during elections. They are merely used by the politicians, hence the administrative tolerance for squatting. This is why the politicians love the squatters. They love them way too much to the point of even promising land ownership if elected into office.
This electoral symbiotic set-up is the reason for the deeper socio-economic and environmental problems that stem from squatting — unseen to the naked eye and accepted by many as merely a problem that exists.
Just imagine if the squatters will be of no value to the local city mayors. The first order of the day will be beautification. The politicians will justify getting rid of the shanties to make their city a more organized, cleaner place where delivery of goods and services will then be viable. Rightful landowners will be able to boost the economy in real estate or commercial business opportunities. The threat of health and fire outbreaks will be reduced. The policemen will have less crime to deal with. Public schools will not be overcrowded. Most importantly, elections, without the foolishly lured votes, will be able to propel our country forward.
But how do you factor out this perverted masa vote so elections will focus on the real issues instead of empty promises? Naturally, the first impulse of the incumbent will be to instantly object because he/she is the “protector of the poor.”
Do we lose all initiatives and give up only to be swallowed up by this negligence?
It takes the President or one brave legislator to stand up and come up with a law to shotgun the effects of the masa vote. It will probably be the most controversial law, but it will lay the groundwork for having things fall in the proper places. Squatting is a crime, and squatters should be convicted — not sent to jail for their wrongdoing. They should be dealt with in the way that incarcerated convicts are punished by stripping off their right to suffrage. Squatters, being wrongdoers, should somehow be punished. This is the only way to give the mayors the initiative to truly help them in looking for a better alternative.
We will then see the mayors who genuinely love their constituents. They will want to solve the squatters’ predicament, put our money to good use, and look for means to provide decent land in another area. And then things will start falling in the right places.
The only way that the less fortunate can be helped from overburdening our motherland is by tough love. The marginalized should be rescued from the politicians’ frame of mind. This is the only way we can start helping everybody, including ourselves.
July 4th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
o binay pala dito, let me share this:
street parliamentarian yan noon, pareho ang sigaw namin, tama na sobra na, 20 years na si marcos noon sa kapangyarihan, si binay ay 20+ years na naka upo……..
noon natatakot kami na pag nawala si ferdie eh si meldie ang papalit, asawa ba ni jojo yung dra. binay na naging mayor ng makati…….
si jun jun kaya maging mayor ng makati sa 2010, kaninong anak yon…..
malaki talaga ang ginagawang pagbabago ng kapangyarihan sa isang idealist mind.
I SALUTE YOU SIR KUNG WALANG NG TATAKBONG BINAY SA MAKATI SA 2010.
gusto kita ulit maging IDOL tulad ni JOKER….
May 31st, 2007 at 11:26 pm
Kabayan
The term “Discipline� was also used by Marcos once to justify to his Martial Rule. Remember “Sa ikauunlad ng Bayan disciplina ang kailangan� motto. Yes that is Marcos’.
Then what happened? It was he, his generals, his wife, and a lot his kin’s and Imelda’s who didn’t have the discipline. They plundered the Philippines and instituted the highest form of electoral cheating and totalitarian rule.
That’s right. Before Martial rule we had an economy second only to Japan.
No it’s not the discipline I’m worried about. It’s the sincerity of those who govern and who have the power which we should be vigilantly watching.
Dictatorship would never be the answer to our nation as it had and will still be open to corruption and abuse.
***********
Salina
Dictotorship lead to nowhere, And its already proven by the Marcoses! How can we ever forget. And now another dictatorship Gloria Arroyo, In fact she’s worse compare to Marcos. If she succeed on changing the constitution law; She’ll be in power forever.
May 31st, 2007 at 6:27 pm
From Salina
Kabayan: If everybody think like you, The Philippines well be the best places to live. You touch my heart with this post. Godbless, And more power to you! Amen:
________________________________
Thanks Salina, I was blessed with a good education but a lot of my other relatives are not so lucky. Some of them quit school because of lack of money. This is unfortunate since some of them have very good brains.
I consult with some of them and they surprise me with their wisdom and points of view. I likewise share and teach them my point of view.
It is my hope someday that my relatives who are in the “masa” would one day be lifted from their plight and would be living in a prosperous Philippines, free from the culture of abuse and corruption that pervades society.
I hope for a prosperous, free, God-fearing Philippines of the future.
May 31st, 2007 at 6:16 pm
The term “Discipline” was also used by Marcos once to justify to his Martial Rule. Remember “Sa ikauunlad ng Bayan disciplina ang kailangan” motto. Yes that is Marcos’.
Then what happened? It was he, his generals, his wife, and a lot his kin’s and Imelda’s who didn’t have the discipline. They plundered the Philippines and instituted the highest form of electoral cheating and totalitarian rule.
That’s right. Before Martial rule we had an economy second only to Japan.
No it’s not the discipline I’m worried about. It’s the sincerity of those who govern and who have the power which we should be vigilantly watching.
Dictatorship would never be the answer to our nation as it had and will still be open to corruption and abuse.
May 30th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
Whether admit it or not, like it or not, curse it or not, “masa vote� exists not only because of crooked politicians who use them but because the “masa� themselves sell out their votes. It’s similar to drug pushers vis-à-vis drug addicts scenario. Everybody would pity the “masa� because they are poor but I don’t simply believe they should remain poor. There are excellent experiences of persons posting in this blog, that they are not even ashamed of admitting that once they belong to this class, like Proud Welfarevillian . That’s the key, “once� they were there, meaning they manage themselves to get out from it.
Back in 1980, I can still remember the odor of a nearby swamp in Malibay, Pasay City of which I couldn’t sleep well coupled with mosquitoes bugging my ears and biting me. I had a neighbor who I used to play with at a nearby vacant dusty lot. Their home was just on a swamp. I could just imagine how difficult for him to sleep. One year after, my high school graduate father saw a good place in a far province to start a bakery business. We migrated in that place and our new home was far better although we still sleep under our dining table. Now he got 4 kids all finished college, the eldest is a doctor. And he continued to run the business and to be well respected in town. Nobody believed him that he came from Malibay slum area. Due to my curiosity, I went back in Malibay. I saw a familiar face and he was looking at me too, maybe caught with the same feeling. I approached him and there I remember he was our neighbor. He recognized me too. He was still living in that area although not the same home but another squatter house nearby. He finished high school but not able to step to college. He does part time jobs of either carpentry or tricycle driving.
Was he selling his “masa� vote? I don’t know, but what I only couldn’t imagine was, “why is he still there?� Because of politicians who take advantage of their “masa� votes? When we shook hands and after looking at my car, he quickly justified, “ Wala na talaga tayong maasahan sa gobyerno natin. Puro graft and corruption, mula pa kay Cuneta, ngayon Trinidad.� I didn’t want to take that topic so I quickly asked about the other “barkadas.� A few of them were still there, others left the area. But a look on his face, there were regrets. I knew what it was. I didn’t elaborate anymore.
A “masa� will always be a “masa� if his attitude and thinking will always be there. We talk too much on democracy and neglect the very important thing, DISCIPLINE. Discipline will bring us to education and education will lead us to better judgments and decisions in life, like voting. Some insist too much truth about the “Hello Garci� from Arroyo, like Salina here, but do we insist on looking for the truth behind why people are “masa�? Is it because of martial law, elections, graft and corruption in the government, or the President? I can not simply accept the excuse of being poor as the reason for not having good education. Salina again, would blame Arroyo for the poor quality of education public schools have but still I can not accept that reasoning simply because I did have classmates in high school who are now working as Accountants, Auditors, Engineers, Nurses, and Doctors. Others remained in the province and they have regrets. And they would count themselves belonging to the “masa�.
I don’t have to be righteous just to be a responsible and wise voter and neither I would count my vote as “masa� because, I am not that anymore. Only this I know is true, if discipline is there, there would be no “masa votes�, only responsible and wise votes.