‘Gone is the desire to upturn the status quo, because they themselves are now important cogs in that very status quo they once railed against.’
YESTERDAY marked the start of the short, ten-day campaign period for Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials, ideally the foundations of our political structure and of our democracy.
I was in a small barangay in Sta. Cruz, Manila with Gary David, the star of our defunct Powerade Tigers PBA team; he had been invited to grace the opening parade of one of the two slates gunning for the posts of chairman, seven Barangay kagawads and SK chair and SK kagawads and I accompanied him to observe.
It was a grassroots democracy with all its promises and flaws. The aspirants were all uniformly attired; there was the drum and bugle squad to lead the way, and the ragtag group of fellow residents and supporters made up the whole gaggle that walked past the vehicle where I sat quietly and unobtrusively observing the spectacle.
All over the place, the tarps were up, and many tricycles were decked with tarps, too, I guess for a fee.
Because the barangay next to the PNR railway lines was a small one it didn’t take long for the marching group to make a full circle and come back to where they started.
When the idea of barangay officials was conceived during the time of the first President Marcos, it was, I thought, a stroke of genius. Decentralizing the task of governance would bring the government closer to the people and vice versa. And what better formula to ensure more effective governance?
But, leave it to us Pinoys, a good idea got mangled in practice. Just like what we did to democracy in general, the theory of check and balance (cheque and balance? Hahah) in particular and other key concepts of democracy and even republicanism.
So today we see democracy as it is practiced in the Philippines, like the country itself full of promise and of flaws. Over the years, I’ve seen idealistic young men and women throw their proverbial hat into the ring; full of wild ambitions about turning the country’s politics on its head and ushering in a new beginning.
But give or take a term in office or two, the idealism is gone; replaced by a cold-hearted realism. Gone is the desire to upturn the status quo, because they themselves are now important cogs in that very status quo they once railed against.
The status quo hasn’t changed much, but their status has.
Yesterday’s bunch of idealists was no different; but what the heck; let’s give this batch of candidates a chance. Who knows? This might be the batch to prove all cynics like me wrong. Finally.
