Are
we just remembering the PAST, are not we ready to feast for today’s
Independence?
I am glad and
proud to be Pinoy. It took my ancestors
hundreds of years of bloodshed and struggle to reclaim this country. Yes, we
are all reminded of the very first day
(June 12, 1898) when our flag was raised in Kawit, Cavite. But as a Pinoy at
this point in time, I do hope that the upcoming year and on this same month and
day that we could celebrate ‘Independence
Day’ not just in memory of the past BUT a celebration for the present day.
Do
we really own this land called Philippines?
Nowadays, many
Filipinos die literally fighting for their piece
of land (farmers) in this country while the foreigners own one – not
necessarily them but named after their dummies or wife maybe or even
sometimes owned by BIG names or clans not just two but a lot more as long as their money can afford. Why is it not
possible for every Juan to own a piece of land? The beggars on the street, are not
they Filipinos? The farmers who had to work for somebody else, for a fellow
Pinoy? The renters who are mostly the middle-class Pinoys who only work just to survive their Landlords?!
But of course, every property, every asset one has is but the fruit of his own labor. It is also wrong to blame those who are well-off to afford a place to call their own.
Can the
Lawmakers make a Law limiting the number of land ownership per person. And if for companies who can cite a clear
purpose for acquiring hectares of land a blue print of the proposed project
must be submitted first.
Want a share in this
country, then buy it...
Is there really
freedom in our country? Is the Philippines a country we can call our OWN
despite of the fact that NOT ALL of us, do not even own a ‘pot of its land’. You can not own your share in this country
UNLESS you have the money to buy it…that
is the reality. I can even say that we MAYBE need to die first to have our own piece of this country. It is saddening
to accept the truth that a Filipino can
only have a piece of this land when he
dies – literally a ‘piece’ in the memorial park sometimes just a ‘right’
and not a ‘title’ especially in apartment-type cemetery that a corpse
shares the same lot just piled on top of the other!
If you are born from a family of modern slaves – not owning a land or not
having a business of your own, might as well die the same and history repeats
itself on your descendants UNLESS miracle
happens.
I hope that the
government can make way for REAL Land Reform and make sure that this
land be given to the rightful heirs and can help make Filipinos the ‘boss’ in workplaces and help them
achieve Freedom to grow.
Not
against foreign investors but till when are we going to work for them?
It is ironic
that yet we are celebrating Freedom these past years but still we can not keep
the fact that we are slaves in our own land. I hope too that the Duterte Administration can
formulate laws regarding foreign
investors, forecasting their profits after getting thrice or quintuplet of their investment, they would leave the
country and leave the business to the next five Pinoys in rank. We need to give
them time to get returns on their
investment (ROI) and to earn of course BUT we must provide strict regulations
– because true, many benefit from the generated jobs FOR A WHILE but who
profits the most in a lifetime span? The investor alone of course... They get richer and the employees, our
fellow-countrymen get poorer. Or if these investors wish to extend their
presence in the land, they should PROVIDE attractive retirement benefits, fair remunerations and additional bonuses like –
scholarship for children of employees of five years in service and the like.
The relationship must be symbiotic,
give and take so both of us will exist, not just exist but exist contently.
I am challenging the lawmakers to
promulgate such kind of law to protect the interests of Pinoy workers. And
a foreign company shall not be allowed to HIRE
CONTRACTUAL employees, and non-compliance of such should MEAN termination
of permit to operate in the country.
Make
accommodation for foreign investors easier to attract more BUT policies MUST be
made clear.
Real Essence of Freedom
Freedom does not
only mean we are not behind bars or guarded by gunmen, it also means freedom to
prosper. Filipinos must be helped to attain this goal for
themselves and their respective families – I fairly think that it is the role
of the government.We can not attain
national development when the smallest unit of the society – the families, are left-out.
For every tax a business pays, is the national coffers’ gain. Every cent spent
by individuals or families constitute the economic circulation. The prosperity
of every family constitutes the progress of the Nation as a whole.
Recommendations:
I trust that the
Duterte administration who declares to
allow every government branch to spend each budget up to the single centavo
can realize this dream for everyJuan.
Establishing cooperatives with lower interest rates, easy-payment
schemes with matching training-seminars
to be spearheaded by the Technology and Livelihood Research Center [TLRC]/Technology
Enhancement and Skills Dev’t. Authority [TESDA]
not just to give the debtors fund (from the particular field they wanted
to get-involved with like Dept. of Agrarian Reform/Department of Social Welfare
and Dev’t. [DSWD]/Micro-Small-Medium-Enterprises [mSMEs]) but equip tyro-entrepreneurs
with the needed knowledge and skill to compete in the business world. They can also provide particular amount for a
start-up and any cost above it shall be considered a loan. The loan payments
received can make the department up and running and always ready to fund for
possible business expansion of beneficiaries.
The government
must also PROVIDE updated technology in farming, fishing and different
industries pertaining to investment opportunities starting from micro, small to
medium ventures – and information
technology is the key to a cheaper cost of acquiring such. No need to send
delegates abroad. Or if skills training is needed Guests speakers shall be invited and as well as the training
premises should be prepared so that MORE brains can benefit from it not just one or two but as many as the
conference hall and training facility can accommodate. That only means MORE
CARRIERS of the updated technology
likewise more and more reach of the project. Funding, training, government
supervision and intervention shall exist for at least a year to guide everyJuan
who is starting-up.
Expectations:
We can not do
anything IF we are bounded by scarcity of resources. Had the government give us
a CONDUCIVE/FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT to flourish, we then have OUR FREEDOM to
prosper by all means - FAILURE will only
be up to individuals who did not do their BEST to exhaust all the possibilities
to succeed.
As of now, let
us enjoy to reap the freedom we had during the last elections that almost
sixteen million Pinoys had chosen Mayor Duterte as the frontrunner of this nation,
we must take confidence that he is going to the direction we wanted this
country to be. Let us not distract the
leader’s governance. No objections yet till we see the results.
All hopes that
this article can reach the authorities and somehow find time to listen to the
voice of a modern-day Filipino who wants to celebrate the birth of not just the
‘grandpa Independence’ but present-day Independence.
Thanks for taking time reading this article. I do hope my fellow-Pinoys can share their own perspective of Real Independence.
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