A Reflection on the lamentations of the Urban Poor in relation to the citizens’ voting power
Among the various sharings made by the attendees of the Easter Sunday mass, the most striking and powerful one was made by Ms. Alice Murphy, a known human rights crusader and a champion for the rights and welfare of the urban poor sector.
She expressed her dismay, perhaps even disgust, about the current state of affairs, particularly lamenting why no one seems to be fighting for the urban poor – na s’yang mga pangunahing nabibiktima ng War on Drugs, TRAIN, EndO, atbp.
According to her, they’re just there – waiting for leaders to mobilize them for action.
Bakit ganun? Ang mga urban poor ang mga mabilis lapitan at gamitin ng mga politiko tuwing election, pero pagkatapos ng election kinakalimutan na nila?
She lambasts politicians na mga mahilig mag-ala Poncio Pilato o naghuhugas ng kamay sa mga panahon na kailangan sila ng taumbayan.
This reflection got me thinking and my reflections lead me to one conclusion: Nasa boto ng bawat Pilipino ang pag-asa ng pagbabago. Without it, the status quo will never change: the poor will always be poor, while the rich get richer.
And yet, though people have been voting for decades, why are we still in a state where the poor are used during elections and promptly discarded thereafter?
Mahirap mang sabihin at aminin – at marahil maraming magagalit dahil sa aking sasabihin – palagay ko ay tungkulin kong sabihin ang mapait na katotohanan. Nagagamit, naaabuso at napagsasamantalahan ang mahihirap dahil na rin sa pumapayag silang magpagamit tuwing halalan. They vote for politicians that they know are not worthy, who are the same politicians who courted them during elections and ignored them the rest of the time. Why? Because many people forsake the true value of their vote, and sell it at a bargain during elections.
It’s easy to lambast politicians – and they deserve it. But trapos will be trapos. If they fool us once, shame on them. But if we keep voting for them, who do we blame?
There are good citizens out there, but they don’t get a chance to serve because voters would rather vote for bombastic personalities, who make promises that we all know are too good to be true. Or, in my case, when we do get voted in office, we ourselves promptly become victims of oppression and political persecution.
That is precisely why people will be waiting in vain if they are waiting for politicians to mobilize them for change: it is not in their interest to emancipate the poor from poverty because leading them on during election season is a cheap way to gain and remain in power.
Nangangako ang mga pulitiko ng pagbabago. Malaking panlilinlang lamang yan dahil ang tunay na makapagdadala ng pagbabago ay ang taumbayan mismo.
How? By using our power to remember, to not forget and to not vote for the politicians who were blind, deaf and dumb to the plight of the poor outside of election season, and those who are fence-sitters, ‘fair weather’ opportunists. And, though it may sound self-serving, by defending those who stand up and defend our rights, freedoms and democratic system of government.
Government won’t change if we don’t change how we vote during elections and about issues. Our oppressors are only as powerful as we allow them to be, for as long as we allow them to remain in power.
But, more importantly, we, the Filipino people, can be as powerful as we allow ourselves to be, if only we use our power wisely and effectively. ###