If Vice President Jojo Binay wins, despite all the allegations of graft and unexplained wealth against him which he refuses to answer, then this country might indeed go to the dogs.
It would be the tyranny of the poor and ignorant masses, people who don’t care about their government as long as they’re given food or money from a dubious source.
As we all know, the masses elect our national and local leaders since they greatly outnumber the middle class and educated voters.
Patronage politics would be the order of the day, every day, in a Binay presidency.
The poor would depend on dole from the government, such as what allegedly happened during the terms of Jojo and his son Junjun Binay as Makati mayor.
As an aside, one is reminded of a female member of French royalty before the French Revolution who, when told the poor had no bread to eat replied, “Let them eat cake.”
Biddings for national government—as well as local government—projects might be rigged.
Government coffers could be raided.
The Robin Hood-type of government would bleed dry the rich and big business through unreasonable taxation.
There would be more corrupt politicians as the philosophy would be to “live and let live.”
Criminals and drug pushers would rule the streets since the leaders would be too busy raiding the government coffers and extorting from the rich.
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And because they won’t be able to stomach what’s happening, the middle class and educated people, although in the minority, would stage a revolt against the corrupt powers-that-be as they did at Edsa I and Edsa II.
As usual, the poor and uneducated “masa” would just stand aside between the clash of the powers-that-be and the minority middle class and wait for the winner to emerge from the chaos.
You see, the masa doesn’t care; they just want their food and other forms of dole.
And then, it’s back to “normal”: the victors become corrupt or more corrupt than before, perpetuating patronage politics.
Oh, beloved Philippines, when will this karmic drama ever end?
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Resigned Food Security Adviser Kiko Pangilinan is running for the Senate again.
The last time he was in the Senate, Pangilinan passed that stupid law exempting from any criminal liability youthful offenders, aged 15 and below, no matter how serious the crime.
Because of that harebrained law, many young punks have committed with impunity such heinous crimes like murder and rape.