A CITIZEN’S PLEA
by Donald Sevilla
” Honorable members of this august body, we cry out to thee!
Hear the plight of your suffering people.
Everyday is a struggle to put food on our table..
We work and toil all day for some measly pay.
Nothing comes cheap and we are at the bottom of the heap. Pray tell us how could we take the leap?
Gas is always a rising, prices of food and necessities skyrocketing ,what recourse do we have from thee?
Through thick and thin we must always be together in our joy and misery. “
While COVID may seem to have slowed down and we may be on alert level one status, the issue is just not only about it.
Ever since the pandemic struck, we have been besieged by a host of problems, life-changing circumstances that threaten the fabric of our society.
Yet for all our resilience and patience, we need each other’s cooperation and understanding to survive.It does not help that others claim privilege and entitlement while the rest of us suffer and bear the brunt of life’s difficulties.
As repeatedly expressed the time is not now. While government service vehicles may be old and wornout, a little sacrifice won’t hurt. How does it feel riding in airconditioned comfort at public expense when the people they serve have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to make ends meet?
It is not as if our leaders are without means.They are far better off than the majority of us in terms of privilege and wealth.Yet these are difficult times and everyone is called upon to make their share of sacrifices.
By the way how true is it that in the present setup as before, our lawmakers are getting these perks on top of their basic salaries?
RATA (Representation and Transportation Allowance)
For those using their own vehicles – P17,000
For those with assigned govt.vehicles P8,500
Poor you and me!