Editor’s Note: Hopeful but be very careful for 2019
The Year 2018 was a very challenging year for the Philippines. This is the most chaotic in terms of politics, economy and other issues being avoided by the current administration.
In the past interviews done by The Philippine Business and News with the Ambassadors of India and European Union, Executive Chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce Philippines, various International Chambers of Commerce in Philippines, as well as other top Chief Executive Officers of various industries in the Philippines.
We heard them say that amidst the challenges that continue to face the country in 2018, these leaders are very hopeful with what will happen to the Philippines, that is, there would be positive changes that will take place.
But looking back, where there really positive changes apart from changes in the leadership in both Congress and Senate, wherein those corrupt politicians were suddenly acquitted after languishing in jail for so long simply because their political patrons bailed them out and worked on their liberty not for free but maybe for a fee. While the petty thieves are still rotting in the jail.
What further changes did we see in 2018?
Well, President Rodrigo Duterte continued his tirades against the Church. He did not only mock the Church, but also threaten the Church, the clergies and prelates. He even called God stupid, the Holy Eucharist “shit”, and the Holy Trinity as “silly” and many more blasphemous and profanities.
In a pre-dominantly Catholic country, it seems those Catholics who are working in the government now and who are even cabinet members opted to turn their eyes blind and pretend to be deaf with what their President is doing to their God, to the Church, clergies and prelates. They think of their survival. They think of their family.
Some dubbed President Duterte as the Nero of the modern time. But many are wondering why someone like him who was educated in both Ateneo and San Beda, deemed as country’s prestigious Catholic Schools, would behave this way. They find it queer and even disgusting to hear that from the most powerful person in the country. But others are askance on this antic of the President, because every time he cusses, something surprising is going to happen like the recent acquittal of former President now Speaker of the House Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who all along faked her illness.
Our country had been through a lot, from powerful earthquakes, super typhoons, ousting a tyrant and many more. But in the end, God intervened and brought us back to where we are now, alive and kicking, and that is where we are ought to be.
As we welcome 2019, the Year of the Pig in Chinese calendar, let us all be vigilant. Let us not allow those in power to drag us to dirty and disorderly conditions. Let us bring back our honor, dignity and respect that we have from other people across the globe.
Yes, we should be hopeful in 2019 like those leaders that THEPHILBIZNEWS interviewed in 2018. But at the same time, we should also be careful with the snares of the pigs. Let us not wrestle with the pigs, lest we both get dirty and they enjoy it. Let us take the higher ground, because this is the only way to bring in real positive change in the country. Remember, hope springs eternal.
