Group slams gov’t leaders for hampering freedom

The Philippine flag is unfurled during the Independence Day rites at the Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan City Tuesday. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ/PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is not “truly independent” because its people are deprived of good education, are going hungry, and are financially handicapped , a protest group deplored Tuesday as the country celebrated its 114th independence anniversary.

“Being free does not only mean that a person is not imprisoned in [an iron] cage,” Cathy Cruz, secretary of Save the Nation Movement, said in an interview with Inquirer.net during their rally at Plaza Miranda.

“Freedom should mean that a person is free to get good education, is free to eat at least three times a day, and is free to buy his wants and needs at an affordable price,” she said.

“I’m saying that what they claim to be independence is not true because if we are truly independent, then we should be able to get those things easily,” she added.

Cruz said it is the government’s responsibility to provide the needs of the people, noting that people are demanding wage increases to enable them to cope with the high cost of basic commodities.

She also said that so many children are begging or working in the streets instead of studying in school.

She called on government officials to come down to the level of the normal Filipinos so they can understand the suffering the people had to endure.

“If those government officials really love their country, they should not imprison themselves within the four walls of their offices,” Cruz said.

“They should come down [to the level of the people],” she said. “So they can experience what the simple Filipino goes through.”