BY: DONALD SEVILLA
FOR LACK OF EMPATHY
When bad times happen it is when we can test the mettle of our leadership. How leaders react and address a crisis, speaks a lot about their ability to govern and lead our people through.
At a time like this, we can feel if we made a good choice in electing the right people to steer our ship.
Yet amid the crisis brought about by the war in the Persian Gulf, what good have our leaders done to protect us?
It is easy to resign to our fate and raise our hands in desperation knowing our country is totally dependent on outside sources for our fuel supply, but we have to be creative and think outside the box to survive.
While we don’t produce our own fuel, government must be quick to find measures to address the problem in the long term and not merely opt for palliative solutions.
Our country’s lack of infrastructure to store strategic fuel reserves is one that must be addressed and could have been addressed if our leaders had the vision to plan things forward.
Not only are we now hard-pressed to find alternative sources for our fuel but we are also restricted to have places where to store them.
To mitigate the impact of rising fuel prices, other nations have used government subsidies to help their people out. They were quick to act and temper the negative effects on their economies.
Yet in the Philippines, here we are debating and politicking on what to do. We cannot forego the “temporary” suspension of the VAT and excise taxes on fuel as we are worried about the shortfall in revenue that such actions may bring. This despite the billions lost to corruption on infrastructure and other government spending.
But instead of teaching and providing opportunities for our people to earn a decent livelihood, we are encouraging a culture of mendicancy by providing doleouts in the form of cash aid for short-term relief.
Government should be more proactive and not focus on spoon-feeding our people to tide things over.
Worse, such doleout programs while they can offer immediate relief, are not sustainable. They make our people cling more and patronize our politicians.
In other words, we are encouraging our people to be like beggars, waiting for scraps of food to fall from the masters’ table. These moves are good for political purposes and optics but not for fiscal independence.
To stem the tide of rising prices fed by the fuel crisis, our leaders could set the example If only they had more empathy in them.
They could sacrifice and give up a portion of their huge salaries to help our struggling economy by cutting down on expenses to fund sustainable government programs.
Fiscal savings generated by such patriotic move can run into the billions, enough to subsidize our needs and stabilize our economy.
But instead of easing the burden on our people,our “superficial” leaders cannot feel the impact as this crisis does not hit them adversely.
The ordinary workers, daily wage earners who struggle from day to day are the most adversely affected. Our politicians, with their huge salaries and confidential funds cannot feel the impact of the prices at the gas pumps.
If only our leaders had the welfare and interests of our people at heart, we would not be wasting time and debating politics at a crucial period for our nation.
Giving up a portion of their earnings could be equivalent to scrapping the VAT and fuel excise taxes which could greatly help poor Juan de la Cruz.
Yet by cutting on spending and exercising frugality, government could help lead us out of this predicament.
But the way our leaders present it to us, they are exhorting our people to tighten their belts more to the point of strangling themselves.
Capable and good leaders set and lead by example. They take charge. And for the love of God and country, they exercise empathy and selflessness!