Who’s our torch bearer?

Typhoons, landslides, torrential rains, catastrophic floods, deaths, properties destroyed. Corruptions scandals, explosive investigations and media wars. Mass protests, religious expressions of strong positions, academic discourses, political maneuverings and systematic intrigues and bickering.

- ARIEL NEPOMUCENO

We are now in the midst of a destructive, vicious cycle where the road to progress and full recovery is mired in the mud of obstacles and blinded by deadly smoke of conflicting interests and views. Almost zero visibility. Our people are once more being made to merely survive and become oblivious of the world that has left us behind.

The basic issues that plagued our nation decades ago are the same hindrances that deprive us of enjoying an inclusive and vibrant economy. The benefits of a liberal economic regime have yet to cascade to the homes of Filipinos. We are farthest from that.

The statistics will not lie

The numbers are clear. More than 17 million of our countrymen are poor. Regardless of the final definition of the poverty threshold from the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), we can visually see the meaning of poverty in many corners of our urban centers.