Mang Pandoy passed away last week. He was plucked from obscurity in 1992 when then president Fidel Ramos made him the face of poverty. He was given some money, a piece of land, several jobs and scholarships for his children. Sixteen years later he died, by most accounts a destitute, from tuberculosis—a disease which at one time was considered terminal but these days considered to be largely treatable.
I grieve for Mang Pandoy because people took advantage of him. I also grieve for him because he squandered numerous opportunities to better his life and that of his family. By some account, he was given P200,000 at one time. In all likelihood, he did not invest that money wisely. He also received money from the various jobs given to him. Of course, those were token jobs but they generated substantial salaries that a more savvy individual could have put to better use. His children were unable to take full advantage of the scholarships given them because they did not have money for transportation and other related expenses, It was said that Mang Pandoy sold the land he received to augment his children's education-related expenses. During his last days, he was diagnosed to have tuberculosis but his family did not bring him to a hospital because they did not have any money for his hospitalization. I know of people of lesser stature who were accommodated in the Lung Center. Why his family did not think about bringing him there is now moot. At the age of 63, Mang Panday passed away.
I grieve for Mang Pandoy because he is us. Other nations have taken advantage of us, that's for sure. More tragic is that we've also squandered numerous opportunities for greatness.
In 1986, we proved that we could drive away a dictator through peaceful means. We gave a new meaning to “People Power” which would become a model for ousting tyrants and dictators the world over. But we dropped the ball after that. Much has been said about our failure to make the Marcoses accountable. Less discussed and at least equally disheartening is how we squandered the perfect opportunity to start clean. It now appears that we replaced one set of crooks with another. Ben Abalos got his start in government disservice when he was appointed officer-in-charge of Mandaluyong. People make mistakes. What is imperative is that we correct those mistakes. Cory Aquino expressed her full support for Ben Abalos when he resigned his post as COMELEC chairman amid the NBN-ZTE scandal. Her subsequent expression of support for Jun Lozada is not sufficient atonement for Ben Abalos. Denunciation is not enough but it would be a good start.
When the “Hello Garci” scandal broke out after the 2004 presidential elections, we also squandered an opportunity to rid ourselves Gloria Arroyo because we allowed others with their own self-serving interests and agenda hijack our cause.
When Erap Estrada was finally convicted of plunder, we enjoyed a very brief moment of greatness as a nation who finally found the will to hold an erring president accountable, until Gloria Arroyo hurriedly granted him pardon out of political accommodation.
I grieve for Mang Pandoy because like him we have glimpsed greatness. But like him we also seem to be destined for a sad but largely preventable demise.
I grieve for Mang Pandoy because people took advantage of him. I also grieve for him because he squandered numerous opportunities to better his life and that of his family. By some account, he was given P200,000 at one time. In all likelihood, he did not invest that money wisely. He also received money from the various jobs given to him. Of course, those were token jobs but they generated substantial salaries that a more savvy individual could have put to better use. His children were unable to take full advantage of the scholarships given them because they did not have money for transportation and other related expenses, It was said that Mang Pandoy sold the land he received to augment his children's education-related expenses. During his last days, he was diagnosed to have tuberculosis but his family did not bring him to a hospital because they did not have any money for his hospitalization. I know of people of lesser stature who were accommodated in the Lung Center. Why his family did not think about bringing him there is now moot. At the age of 63, Mang Panday passed away.
I grieve for Mang Pandoy because he is us. Other nations have taken advantage of us, that's for sure. More tragic is that we've also squandered numerous opportunities for greatness.
In 1986, we proved that we could drive away a dictator through peaceful means. We gave a new meaning to “People Power” which would become a model for ousting tyrants and dictators the world over. But we dropped the ball after that. Much has been said about our failure to make the Marcoses accountable. Less discussed and at least equally disheartening is how we squandered the perfect opportunity to start clean. It now appears that we replaced one set of crooks with another. Ben Abalos got his start in government disservice when he was appointed officer-in-charge of Mandaluyong. People make mistakes. What is imperative is that we correct those mistakes. Cory Aquino expressed her full support for Ben Abalos when he resigned his post as COMELEC chairman amid the NBN-ZTE scandal. Her subsequent expression of support for Jun Lozada is not sufficient atonement for Ben Abalos. Denunciation is not enough but it would be a good start.
When the “Hello Garci” scandal broke out after the 2004 presidential elections, we also squandered an opportunity to rid ourselves Gloria Arroyo because we allowed others with their own self-serving interests and agenda hijack our cause.
When Erap Estrada was finally convicted of plunder, we enjoyed a very brief moment of greatness as a nation who finally found the will to hold an erring president accountable, until Gloria Arroyo hurriedly granted him pardon out of political accommodation.
I grieve for Mang Pandoy because like him we have glimpsed greatness. But like him we also seem to be destined for a sad but largely preventable demise.
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