It is time for President Noy Noy Aquino to lead

The hostage taking and killing tragedy that besieged the Philippines last week should serve as a wakeup call, not only for Noy Noy Aquino, who was blasted by Hong Kong media for not only NOT taking the direct calls of Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang when this tragedy was unfolding, but also for having a smile on his face during the press conference, which many in Hong Kong had misconstrued as indifference to the tragedy that happened. While Aquino apologized for having the smirk on his face, this first test of his administration facing adversity was an utter FAILURE.

Who was in charge of the hostage situation and who, if anyone was doing the negotiations with Officer Rolando Mendoza, an officer who spent his entire career serving the people of the Philippines with dignity, garnering multiple awards for his service and then being summarily fired on charges of extortion, charges that were later dismissed because the alleged extortion victim failed to appear in court. I am not saying that Mendoza was innocent of the charges, but the facts are he was not reinstated to the force and his retirement benefits were not reinstated, all of which more than likely led to his going off the edge. What Aquino must do now is call for a full revamp of the PNP's unit that botched this event. Clearly, and on television no less, the officers who participated in the storming of the bus were ill equipped, ill trained, and ill prepared. What was the status of the negotiations in this debacle? Who did the negotiating? Where was ace negotiator Sen. Bong Revilla, who personally led a successful negotiation with a hostage taker in a similar bus incident some years ago that was also broadcast live for the world to witness? There are so many questions and so much that needs to be improved in an effort to minimize the loss of life when future events such as this take place in the Philippines.

Which brings me to the next bone to pick, that of Hong Kong's citizens blasting and harassing Filipino Overseas Foreign Workers in that part of China, and the enablers, the Philippine government that readily sends its citizens abroad to build other countries while its own country remains the laughing stock of Southeast Asia. Hong Kong relies on the hard work of many Filipinos, but after this tragedy occurred, which could have happened in any country, and does all the time, Hong Kong residents have created a tense situation for those overseas Filipinos, and especially the domestic helpers who work in that city. The killing of the Hong Kong tourists was the work of a deranged gunman, and an inept police force, and DOES NOT reflect the attitudes of Filipinos living and working in Hong Kong or Filipinos anywhere else. To think otherwise is blatant racism.

When Corazon Aquino's People Power Revolution broke the iron grip that Ferdinand Marcos had on the country, the newly democratically elected government of Corazon Aquino, and by extension, the Filipino people, had two paths in which to follow; that of instant gratification and the fast buck, or that of hard work, perseverance, and nation building. The Philippines was in shambles. Aquino was amid the ruins. Her signature piece of legislation, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Plan, or CARP, enacted in 1988 was supposed to benefit the farmers, yet the Philippines remains one of the biggest importers of rice and other foodstuffs, and the breakup of Hacienda Luisita, the Aquino family's massive agri-farm, is still, more than two decades later, in litigation in the courts.

The notion of the overseas foreign worker at that time was not new. Filipinos have been going abroad for decades to eke out a better life for their families back home, but during the last 25 years, more and more Filipinos have been seeking higher and sweeter fruits abroad, to the detriment of the Philippines. Rough estimates peg the number of these overseas Filipino Workers at around 10 million give or take a few million, accounting for more than $15 billion in revenue sent back to the Philippines each year, not a paltry sum, about 13 percent of the Philippines GDP by some estimates. However, these same people, these doctors, physical therapists, nurses, accountants, military servicemen, IT professionals, engineers, architects, entertainers, technicians, teachers, seafarers, students, caregivers, domestic helpers and household maids should be building their own country rather than other countries. There are tales of woe that these OFWs are subjected to, from beatings and indentured servitude, to rape and murder. These people are skilled workers who often go abroad to perform menial labor, becoming severely underemployed in positions that are below their training. So what is the problem? If the Philippines is to get rid of its third world moniker, eventually it needs to put all these people to work in the Philippines, and stop sending them abroad to build other countries while their own country continues to wallow in abject poverty, corruption, and based on what we saw on TV during the hostage crisis, ineptitude and impotence. Gross incompetence was on display for all the world to witness. I hope to live to see the day that the Philippines does not have to send millions of its citizens abroad to work in some far off desert, some swanky Asian metropolis, or the United States. When the services are no longer needed of the overseas Filipino worker, the Philippines will have reached and polished its own star on the world stage. The current administration needs to work on that goal.

President Aquino has a unique opportunity to move the country forward. He was given a clear mandate by the people, a mandate that the people are sick and tired of the corruption in government that occurs at all levels, from the executive branch to the House and Senate on down the line to the barangay captain. As the last several administrations have proven, corruption starts at the top and trickles down to all levels of Philippine society. So what are some solutions for Aquino to consider? Below are just a few to get the ball rolling.

Contraception
Nothing more can really be said about this. The Catholic Church in the Philippines, which has held sway over many a political issue during its 450 plus year reign of contraceptive terror must stop condemning the use of contraceptives in the Philippines. In fact, the Philippine government should take the lead on this issue and provide free or low cost contraceptive devices to any Filipino who wishes to avail of them. The Church needs to stay silent on this issue or continue to see the population of the country explode, which mitigates any economic gains and prosperity. All Filipinos who have sex ought to think twice about it and protect themselves, especially if they don't want children right away. The macho mentality that prevails needs to die. Who are those who make babies but then abandon the mother and child? They are not macho, but rather they are cowards who bring a baby into this life but run away from their responsibilities.

Feed the people
The Philippines is an absolute breadbasket of food production yet it imports tons and tons of food each year. Why is this? And where is the food that is produced in the country going? Out of the country. More food production in the Philippines will be mandatory as the population of the country goes unchecked. Philippine business, and especially the ethnic Chinese Taipans need to stop building subdivisions and megamalls and focus on growing food that will feed the average Filipino, and not the rest of the world.

Oil independence
It sounds like a pipe dream, but if Brazil can do it in 25 years, so too can the Philippines. Brazil is the second largest producer of sugar cane based Ethanol fuel, and mixes 25 percent ethanol with dino oil to come up with the blend. It took Brazil 25 years to become energy independent. The Philippines is also a large producer of sugar cane--it is one of the biggest crops in the Philippines, yet there has been little effort to turn this crop into biofuel. I was on Negros Island a few years ago, a relatively small island compared to the major islands, and I was in a car that drove two hours through nothing but sugar cane fields on both sides of the street. There is plenty of potential that just needs to be harnessed. The government needs to invest in agricultural biotechnology similar to that of Brazil to reduce its dependence on foreign oil and build biofuel solutions.

Kill Corruption
Corruption has run rampant in the Philippines even after Marcos. President Aquino has stated that he will not tolerate corruption. This accidental president had better stick to his guns and go after those in all branches of government who enrich themselves with the people’s money. How many Mercedes Benzes, queridas, and fancy houses in foreign lands is enough for these politicians? Let it never be forgotten that the Four Tigers of the 1980s, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, and Hong Kong were once sleepy ass backward countries rife with corruption. Every one of these tigers stood BEHIND the Philippines and Number 1 Japan in the 1960s in terms of economic output and industrialization. Yet look at them today, all highly industrialized with advanced economies, all maintain a highly educated and skilled workforce. Sound familiar? Hong Kong and Singapore are tiny in scope with scant natural resources, yet look at where they stand on the world economic stage. The Philippines, which was second only to Japan in the 1960s in terms of economic and industrial output has been relegated to Tiger Cub status along with Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. However, if it doesn't take advantage of what it has achieved, it will fall behind as Vietnam catches up, and the Filipino OFW will continue to build other countries while its own continues to suffer.