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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Post impeachment scenario, the possibilitiesand the state of poverty

By EJ LOPEZ

NOW on its 3rd week of “television run,” this continuing saga of impeachment drama resembles that of a “telenovela” where the outcome is eagerly anticipated. The difference is, the viewers are in a fix on who are the “good guys.” Is it the prosecutors who are beaten black and blue day in and day out? Or is it the defense that always make the prosecutors their whipping boy?

If you are an objective viewer of this eagerly awaited daily TV serial, you will come to a conclusion that because of the obvious disparity in performance of the protagonists and the unsubstantiated facts presented by the prosecution, the accused, the CJ would most likely be acquitted. But, as we have been saying all along, the situation is not as simple as that. It is much easier to muster 16 votes to convict the CJ rather than to acquit him. The political repercussion is much greater to acquit the CJ than to convict him.

In the first place, the initiative to convict the CJ was instigated by the executive department and without doubt, the President will be put in a bind if the CJ is acquitted. The international community will see it as a humiliation for the Aquino presidency because it is an indication of a system failure. As result, a lot of political concessions may be placed in jeopardy in reprisal for the CJ’s acquittal. Going against the whims and caprices of the people in power is tantamount to a political suicide. For how can you “bite the hands that feed you?”

In contrast, the CJ’s impeachment will have minimal political ramification to the nation. The “conviction” may have impact on the judiciary but even that branch of government is not united in its stand in support of the CJ. In effect the conviction poses nothing more than insignificant political damage.

But should political survival be the intention of the proceedings? Should the players throw all caution to the wind just to please their benefactor and disregard the glaring reality of what we see on television? A lopsided battle between the defense and prosecutor, fitting a bull against a puppy, are we ready to ignore this reality in favor of political survival? In case we are able to get to this alarming possibility, then I guess we can safely say that we have seen the last of the “court of last resort,” as far as judicial independence is concerned.

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State of Philippine poverty
AN SWS survey from Dec 3 to 7, 2011 indicates that hunger incidence has increased despite the drop in poverty. According to the source, 22.5 percent (4.5 million families) claimed they had experienced nothing to eat. This figure was higher than 21.5 percent (4.1 million families) who experienced the same in September of the same year. This means that despite the drop in poverty, those who remain in poverty have become hungrier than before when they were merely in poverty. Remember that not all who are in poverty are experiencing hunger but despite the reduction in poverty incidence (the number of those who are stuck in poverty), the statistics show that an increase in those who are experiencing hunger.

On a nationwide scale, the number of people who endured severe hunger increased by 1.2 percent to 4.7 percent (approx. 955,000 families). The government should seriously consider these hard facts and address the dilemma accordingly.

The problem of hunger and poverty in the country has been complemented by an anemic growth of our GNP.From a 7.6 percent growth in 2010 to a measly 3.5 percent growth in 2011, it is a problem that has been ignored by the public sector last year. Instead of beefing up the economy, the government engaged in under spending. This government for this year can hopefully rectify these inactions.

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