NECESSITY VS DESIRE, NEED VS WANT
by Donald Sevilla
Simply put, the planned purchase of brand new vehicles for the SP reeks of a double standard. Contrary to claims made, circumstances have not changed for the better and we are no better off than we were then.
Maybe for some but not for most of our people who have to find ways to fend off the ill effects of constantly rising fuel prices that create a chain of inflation. Our people have never suffered more than the havoc brought about by the pandemic and Typhoon Odette and here we have our honorable lawmakers claiming their privilege.
Public service is at its best, empathy for the plight of the people you serve.When everybody else is feeling the difficulty making ends meet and the economy has not yet recovered, it does not help that our public servants put themselves first above the rest of us.
The move to purchase brand new vehicles while initiated during the previous administration was shot down amid a public backlash and clamor from the opposition. Fast forward to the present and the same people who vehemently opposed it are singing a different tune.Critics then are silent now and are justifying the purchase as a necessity.
But is it really? Let us remember that our circumstances have indeed changed. Where before gas prices were hovering at about P40 to a liter we are facing the unthinkable reality of fuel at P80 per liter now. Covid has not gone away and is still very much around although we have become numb and care less and less everyday. Our people have yet to rebuild their homes and their lives after Odette’s wrath.
Yet here we are contemplating to make the lives of our privileged citizens even more comfortable. When our politicians ran for office they did so at their personal expense.They knew the demands of the profession and are aware of the rudiments of public service. So it comes as no surprise then that they have to go out of their way to fulfill their mandate and uphold the oath they took to serve our people.
While we are not saying they don’t deserve to be provided the means to make their jobs easier and the delivery of services to constituents made efficient, the timing is off. Just like in a marriage, couples have to
manage through thick and thin.
Now is not a good time and everyone is called upon to make sacrifices. Our honorable men and women are not without means. A little extra mile wouldn’t hurt them and their pockets.Yet precious government resources can be channeled for much needed priorities.
In summary what all this boils down to is empathy. Our people and our leaders have to go through good times and bad times together. This is the essence of true public service, one that we all must be aware of. It is not a question of “we are better off than them, that the people trust us more as we are not hounded by issues of corruption” but a matter of understanding and sacrifice.
Truth to tell no one can proclaim to be better off than the other as this would be self-serving. The issue is not whether we need those vehicles now or later but how attuned are we to our people’s suffering?
We must look at the bigger picture and not just to our own interests. We must avoid getting ourselves to develop a double-standard mindset.
A little sacrifice won’t hurt. Yet now is the time to know who really means well and understands what public service truly is. In life as in Ecclesiastes there is a time for everything.
Now is never a good time.