Para maiba naman, ito ang isang panibagong simbolo ng ating gobyerno: Isang pedicab. Mabagal ang takbo, daanan patungo sa kailangang puntahan ay lubak lubak. Kelangan natin ng driver na MARunong. (To be different, this (pedicab) is the new symbol of our government: A pedicab. Its pace is slow, the road to our destination is not good. We need a driver who is sMARrt.)Indeed! We need a new pedicab driver for our nation and we believe that it is Mar Roxas who can steer this nation back to where it was: prosperity, peace and progress.
The ad though, is not as simple as it appears. The padyak/sikad is an analogy for the Philippines where, according to the boy: "Kanya-kanyang kayod po dito. Walang maayos na trabaho, walang pambili ng gamot." (Translation: Everyone here has to strive for himself. There are no decent jobs, nothing to buy medicines.) The little girl and the boy represent the Filipinos, who still hope for a brighter future – "Seaman, sana. Ako po, artista." (Translation: Seaman, I hope. Me, a moviestar.)Another good point raised by Neil. Filipinos are hoping for a good future, but it would always remain a hope if we don't act, if no one leads us. Just like this: if we keep hoping that the "pedicab" would lead us to our destination without a driver operating it would be useless.
And Roxas wants us to know that he represents the future leadership of this country, by driving the padyak/sikad himself – "Ako na. Sama-sama tayo. Hindi ko kayo pababayaan. Lalaban tayo!" (Translation: Let me do it. We’re all in this together. I will not abandon you. We will fight!)
“Manhid na ang Palasyo sa patuloy na hinaing ng taumbayan para sa ginhawa sa kabila ng pataas na pataas na presyo ng langis at ng iba pang mga bilihin; Tigilan na nila ang pagbibingi-bingihan sa mga panawagan para suspindihin ang 12% value-added tax sa langis,” he said.Roxas, President of the Liberal Party, lamented that the administration has not only become numb to the people’s plight: it has also been preoccupied with “managing” the current political crisis and with stonewalling the truth behind bad deals.
“Masyado na silang abala sa pag-‘manage’ ng krisis sa pulitika. Gumagastos sila—gamit ang pera ng bayan—para sa mga full-page ads sa diyaryo,” he added.
“Makakain ba ang mga full page ads na ito? Tumaas na ang presyo ng pan de sal, ng manok at ng baboy sa palengke, at ang ginawa ng pamahalaan ay maglabas ng full page ads?” he lamented.
“The government has done nothing else to follow up its ‘token’ actions, such as reducing oil tariffs and holding an Energy Summit that has failed to effectively stem the heavy impact of oil prices, he said, adding that transport groups are set out to hold a strike this week, which the government should heed as a warning of the rising disenchantment of the public,” he added.
“It looks like the government is more intent on covering up for official mistakes or anomalies rather than helping out a jeepney driver on his daily trips, a fisherman using a motorboat, or a farmer operating a tractor save P4 per liter of diesel – which will be the immediate, concrete result of the lifting of the EVAT on oil,” he said.Even as Congress is still deliberating on the proposed suspension of the 12% VAT on oil, the Palace has already rejected it, citing a potential revenue loss of P15 billion.
“Hindi ordinaryo ang kasalukuyang panahon. Higit na kailangan ng mga mamimili ang pera nila kaysa gobyerno, lalo na kung napupunta lang ang buwis na ibinabayad nila sa katiwalian at kontrata tulad ng ZTE-NBN,” he said.Both Roxas’ Senate Bill 1962 and its counterpart House Bill No. 3390 by LP Secretary-General and Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio “Jun” Abaya are now pending at their respective Ways and Means Committees.
“Ipinapakita lang nito na ang pamahalaan ngayon ay bising-bisi sa pag-cover up ng mga kontrobersiya, samantalang hindi naman nito naaatupag ang pagbibigay ng agarang ginhawa sa taumbayan sa kabila ng nagtataasang presyo ng langis at ng iba pang bilihin,” he said.The reported 2.5% rise in poverty incidence from 2003 to 2006 from 24.4% to 26.9%, he said, clearly showed a disconnect between the financial markets and the grass roots economy, and a widening gap between rich and poor. From 4 million poor families in 2003, this went up to 4.7 million in 2006.
“I urge the government to look at these statistics seriously and not brush off the issue by harping on the rising stock market and rising peso, which has also been hurting our exporters and dollar earning OFWs,” Roxas said.
“Maantig na sana ang pamahalaan sa araw-araw na hinaing ng taumbayan na dulot ng pagtaas ng presyo ng langis, at makita nilang hindi sapat ang ginagawa nito ngayon, na nauuwi lang sa “token-ism,” he said.He noted that world crude reached a record $103 per barrel last week, and local companies have raised their prices by P0.50 per liter, with the government also raising oil tariffs from 1% to 2%.
“Let’s push for real and relevant solutions to aid Filipinos and boost their weakened spending power,” Roxas said.
“It was only last month that the government committed to finding ways to cope with the problems of high oil prices. They apparently have resorted to tokenisms such as tariff reductions that have had little impact on alleviating the plight of our people,” he said.Roxas’ bill is being deliberated at the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, and a counterpart bill has been filed at the House of Representatives by fellow Liberal Party stalwart and Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio “Jun” Abaya.
