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 o re-word that famous Yogi Berra
line. With Former COMELEC
Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano
set to testify before Congress, many senators and congressmen, according
to Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, are experiencing sleepless nights
worrying that they too might be implicated by the former commissioner as
one of many candidates who called him during last election. Faced with
possible jail time, that according to Santiago could range anywhere from
six to fifteen years, some legislators are understandably concerned.
Garcillano’s appearance before a House joint committee investigating the
purported cheating by President Arroyo during the 2004 Presidential
Election, will no doubt rivet the public’s attention in another reality
TV-like spectacle well into 2006. The Philippine Legislature has passed
dismally few laws these past sessions, preferring instead to conduct one
high-profile hearing after another.
To
the many overseas Filipinos, who continue to send their hard-earned
money back home and are dismayed by the constant squabbling and
in-fighting that exists in government, it is yet another sign that their
beloved country has not yet reached the level of maturity needed to
govern itself. Living and working in first-world democracies, the
difference in governance is all the more acute.
The
Philippines has of late made a push at capturing the expatriate Filipino
community to invest and retire “back home.” Dual citizenship as now
available to these ex-pats as is the prospect of owning prime
“retirement” properties at very reasonable prices. Unfortunately, the
rush that everyone expected when the dual-citizenship law was passed
never materialized. Nor are the 5-star residential properties flying off
the shelves. The reason is that a lot of Filipinos now living abroad are
unable to overcome that “doubt factor” they have for their fellow
kabayans and are leery of investing their life-savings or retiring in a
country that for the most part, they see as unstable.
Philippine politicians should take the lead in changing these negative
stereotypes, instead many actually reinforce them by their actions, or
in some cases…inaction.
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