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Danielle Lim

Section P
SWS Survey Paper

SLIDE #
5

TOPIC
Trust in Pope Francis

REFLECTION / INSIGHT
Looking at the bar graph
presented in the slide, it
can be seen that theres not
much of a difference in data
between September 2013
and December 2014. To be
honest, that kind of
surprised me. I honestly
thought that there would be
a big difference seeing as
how the Pope was
welcomed last January.
However, I suppose
Filipinos couldnt really
gauge how much they
appreciated the Pope until
actually seeing him live.
Filipinos are known to be
religious people who are
involved in a lot of Catholic
practices. However, more
often than not, most people
dont really practice what
they learn from the Church.
Why am I talking about
this? Well, its simply
because of the fact that the
same thing happened with
the Popes arrival.
When the Pope was here,
the Filipinos were angels.
They revered him so much
as seen by the crowds
along the streets and in the
places he visited. In fact, it
was even said that we
broke the record for the
largest mass conducted in
the world. It was amazing

as well how there were 0


crime rates despite the fact
that not everybody in the
Philippines was Catholic.
However, that didnt last
long.

Net Satisfaction Ratings of


Presidents

Yes, the Filipinos loved


Pope Francis. Yes, he
became way more popular
upon his visit. No one could
resist his charm. However,
when he left, it was like he
was never here. A few
weeks after his visit, the
Fallen 44 tragedy occurred.
What happened to peace
and love? What happened
to everything Pope Francis
taught us? In such a short
span of time, it was gone.
And thats a sad fact, a
depressing reality that we
have to confront and do
something about.
I generally agree with what
is presented in the chart. I
cant really say much about
Corys and Ramos time
because I wasnt born yet
when they were Presidents
but the data regarding
Estrada, Arroyo, and
Noynoy seem to be
accurate.
Starting of with ERAP, he
was very popular in the
beginning. His fame came
from the fact that he was
originally an action star.
However, things eventually
went downhill because of
the jueteng scandal. To be
honest, I think he had good
intentions upon entering the

government but because of


the influence of the people
around him, he succumbed
to corruption. The people
didnt like how their trust
was betrayed so they
staged People Power II.
Arroyo wasnt really elected
as President. She just took
over ERAP. That might
explain why the peoples
satisfaction with her wasnt
all that great even from the
beginning. Later on, all her
scandals came forth, which
made people hate her
more. Corruption was
overflowing during her
administration. But if you
think about it, she did
manage to keep the
Philippines afloat despite
the economic downturn in
2008. But most Filipinos
didnt really think of that
and instead focused on
how she mismanaged their
money.
Noynoys arrival was like
heaven sent. I honestly
believe that peoples
perception of him is rather
biased in the sense that its
highly influenced by Cory
Aquino. His name is what
makes him great. His
actions, although pure, are
not all that efficient. During
the beginning of his term,
all he did was file cases
against former corrupt
officials. People
appreciated that fight for
justice but I honestly

thought he invested too


much time in those. Its not
that I dont agree with what
he was doing against
Corona and the like but its
that I wanted him to focus
on the present. I wanted
him to do something about
the situation of the country.
Eventually though, he did
and Ill give him credit for
that. Many investors are
now looking at the
Philippines because they
see it progressing.

10

Net Satisfaction Ratings of


Vice Presidents

However, because of the


latest news on the Fallen
44, its clear that the
peoples satisfaction with
him will be going downhill. I
honestly dont believe that
he handled the situation
well. When the tragedy
occurred, he should have
immediately mourned with
the family instead of
attending some other prescheduled engagement.
Whenever President
Obama was faced with
such kind of situations, he
always left everything
behind and dealt with the
tragic matter at hand.
Thats what a President
should do and what Noynoy
failed to do.
People were generally
satisfied with De Castro
during his term but to be
honest, he didnt really do
much. He didnt do much
good nor was caught doing
anything bad. Hence,
peoples opinions about

him were generally stable


throughout his term. Their
satisfaction with him was
mainly due to his popularity
as a newscaster and not
really for his efficiency as a
politician.
On the other hand, its
honestly amazing how
Binay is still very much
popular with the Filipinos
despite his scandals but
then again it shouldnt
really come as a surprise
because of our forgiving
nature.
Before talking more about
Binay, Id like to just
backtrack a little to ERAP
again. ERAP was convicted
of corruption and had to
leave his seat of
Presidency because of it.
You would think that his
political career would end
there but it didnt. People
still voted for him when he
ran for Presidency. He won
when he ran for Mayor of
Manila. Despite his past
sins, it seems that people
still find him to be an
eligible candidate for
political positions.
Its the same with Binay.
Yes, he probably stole
money from the people.
Yes, the allegations against
him are all most likely true.
But that doesnt really seem
to matter apparently.
Filipinos are forgiving.
Either that or theyre easily

bought by money and


influence. Despite the
scandal, Binay was
reportedly still a popular
candidate for Presidency.
Im not really sure how the
country would be with him
as President but Im sure
other nations would make a
mockery of us for putting
into power a man who is
known to be very much
capable of corruption.
I do have to commend him,
however, for a job well
done with regard to the city
of Makati. He generally
made it a good city to live
in. Im pretty sure hes
capable of efficient
governance. But a few
successful projects do not
mean that he is allowed to
use the rest of the peoples
money for his own selfish
purposes.

15

Net Satisfaction Ratings of


the Senate and House of
Representatives

Compared to De Castro,
Binay is way more popular.
I suppose his work with
Makati is a factor that
contributes to this fact.
Compared to the past
couple of Presidents, the
senators and congressmen/
congresswomen under
Noynoy seem to be doing
better based on the chart.
Generally, the past
senators / congressmen
were cronies or allies of the
past presidents. They were
more or less in some way
connected to the corruption
the president of their time

was involved in. Im not


generalizing them. Im sure
not everyone in these two
houses was corrupt but
majority of them were. And
that was a big problem.
Instead of having politicians
who work for public
improvement, the country
had politicians who treated
government like a
corporation where selfprofit was the main priority.
However, even Noynoys
term isnt all that perfect.
There are some people in
the Senate and the
Congress who share
Noynoys ideals for a better
government for the people
but there are still others
who were not.
There are people like Leni
Robredo who the people
love. She is truly an
embodiment of good
governance. She works for
the peoples benefit and
encourages transparency
and participation. Its
people like her who help
truly satisfy the people.
On the other hand, there
are people like those
involved in the PDAF
scandal. This scandal
explains why there was a
drop in satisfaction during
PNoys term. People in the
Senate such as Bong
Revilla, Jinggoy Estrada,
and Juan Ponce Enrile
were featured in the news.

They basically used the


peoples money for their
own benefit. The same
goes with the other
congressmen involved. This
incident just goes to show
how the disease of
corruption is prevalent.

19

Net Satisfaction with


National Administration on
Specific Issues

I personally was never truly


satisfied with how the
country is run by these
people. Most of them are
elected either through vote
buying or other form of
cheating, or through
senseless popularity. Ive
always found it ridiculous
how not all the house
representatives are
credible. I would prefer it if
all the lawmakers in the
country were actually
lawyers but seeing as how
thats not really practical, I
hope that at least they were
all well educated individuals
who know their
responsibilities.
There were a lot of issues
stated in this slide but Id
like to focus on education.
Noynoy definitely made
some big changes to this
aspect. For the longest
time, basic education in the
Philippines lasted for about
10-11 years only. This is
rather short compared to
other countries. There were
proposals in the past to
resolve this issue but it
wasnt until Noynoy that
actual reformations took
place.
PNoy established the K12

system. This basically


requires a 12-year basic
education for each child. So
now, our system is in
conformity to those
educational systems
abroad. There were various
reactions to this
implementation but
generally based on the data
given, people were
satisfied.
To be honest, however, I
cant say Im completely for
the K12 system. I have
nothing against the whole
12 years of basic
education. In fact, I am a
product of such kind of
education. But I believe the
problem with Philippine
education today doesnt
really lie on the number of
years provided for each
child but the quality itself.
What does it matter if there
are more years of
education if what one is
studying is no good?
Before adding more levels
of education, I think the
government should address
the fact that we have few
well-trained teachers,
financially capable public
schools, and the like.

25

Number of Year before

ADDRESS QUALITY, not


just quantity. The
Philippines still has a long
way to go before reaching
the likes of Singaporean
education.
The data shown in this

Areas Damaged by
Typhoon Yolanda can Fully
Recover

graph is rather interesting.


When Yolanda occurred in
2013, there was much grief
in the country. I wasnt
actually home when it
happened. I was in Paris
because I joined the Junior
Term Abroad program so I
heard about the typhoon
merely from the news. I
was rather surprised at
what happened because
although weve
experienced tons of
typhoons in the past, there
was never one quite like
Yolanda wherein practically
a whole province was
wiped out.
I kept wondering exactly
what went wrong. Didnt
they see a typhoon
coming? Shouldnt they
have evacuated the
people? I was told later on
that the news kept saying
that a storm surge was
coming. And my aunt
commented on the fact that
they should have just said it
was a typhoon. Who in the
world would understand
what a storm surge is?
Definitely not the masses
who were mostly
uneducated so how could
they have fully prepared for
what was about to happen?
When it happened, the
whole world was alerted to
it. Rescue operations
began and it seemed like
the road to recovery was
going to be quick. Hence,

data shows that many


people were hopeful in Dec
2013 that operations would
take 1-2 years only.
However, the government
continued to disappoint.
After a year, operations
barely progressed.
Because of that, people
became less hopeful.
Hence, the number of
people who were hoping for
a 1-2 years recovery period
dwindled.

47

Net Satisfaction with the


National Administration on
Eradicating Graft and
Corruption

Its so frustrating how things


are always like this. There
are so many plans for a
better future but theyre
never really fulfilled. If they
are, it takes years to do so.
Its not like its a matter of
financial capability. Yes, the
Philippines isnt rich but
there were so many nations
who were helping our
country already to address
the Yolanda problem. Yet
where did that help go? Did
all the money, goods, and
other donations really go to
the people? Or did it go to
the governments pockets?
We dont know. All I know is
that I dont see a full
recovery happening any
time soon.
Based on the graph, it
seems that only the
Aquinos were able to
satisfy the people in fighting
corruption. All the other
presidents seem to support
rather than eradicate it.

I cant really recall much


about Ramos but my
parents told me he was
definitely corrupt. He just
didnt have any big scandal
like ERAP or GMA did.
ERAPs term was shortlived because of the whole
Jueteng Scandal. GMA, on
the other hand, had to deal
with Hello Garci and the
Maguindanao Massacre.
Its rather depressing how
our politicians are
remembered for. We arent
familiar with the good that
they did but are fully aware
of all their wrong doings.
The fight for corruption was
very minimal during the
Ramos, ERAP, and GMA
period probably because
they were the actual
instigators of such kind of
crimes. GMA tried to
engage in such a fight in
some way I guess by
putting ERAP in jail for his
crimes but in the end, she
just pardoned him. Where
was the justice in that? He
didnt suffer for what he did
to all those Filipinos who
experienced hardships
because they werent taken
care of by the government.
Noynoy, on the other hand,
was different. He was like
on a roll. He made sure to
put people like GMA,
Napoles, and Corona under
trial. Thats probably why
his ratings are higher than
the rest. However, despite

his efforts, the disease of


corruption still remains.
Peoples satisfaction with
him definitely fell because
of the pork barrel scandal
that rose during his
administration.
Generally, I think corruption
isnt something a mere anticorrupt president can solve.
He cant do it alone.
Corruption has become like
a part of the culture of
politics. This is a sad reality
that must be addressed.
However, its easier said
than done. I find it hard
myself to think of solutions
to end this kind of crime in
the government. Right now,
what we need is a radical
reformation to encourage
transparency, good
governance, and public
participation.

49

Its not enough to just get


rid of the corrupt officials.
Its more important to train
the young ones and instill
upon themselves the true
values expected from a
politician. Its difficult to
change the way of thinking
of the politicians from the
older generations but its
still possible to educate the
new generation in the
proper art of politics for the
public good.
Believability of Allegations There are not actually a lot
Against Persons in the Pork of things to talk about when
Barrel Scam
it comes to this slide but it
just got me thinking so I
decided to choose it.

I dont understand why


people doubt all these
politicians involvement in
the pork barrel scam. It
seems that people only
believe Bong Revilla, Juan
Ponce Enrile, and Jinggoy
Estrada to be truly guilty of
the crime. What sets them
apart from everyone else?
Yes, they got more money
for themselves but didnt all
the politicians involved do
the same even if its in
smaller amounts? Wasnt
Janet Napoles herself the
one who already gave this
list of people? Isnt that
proof enough for us to
believe that they were all
guilty of embezzling money
from the people? Yet many
still trust them. Many
people still doubt their
involvement and I cant
help but ask why?

64

Net Satisfaction with the


National Administration on

I honestly believe theyre all


guilty and should all be
punished but maybe its
because Im too distrustful
of politicians. Either way, I
think Filipinos need to be
less forgiving and more
objective about things like
this. Im not saying that
having emotions is a bad
thing. In fact, its what
makes Filipinos so lovable
but I think sometimes, they
need to be more critical and
wary of things so as to not
be taken advantage of.
The data presented in this
slide I would say is

Resolving the
Maguindanao Massacre
with Justice

completely accurate. The


Maguindanao Massacre
occurred in 2009. Its 2015
and still the case is
unsolved. The case was
obviously left open in 2010
because GMA was
somehow involved.
Probably not wanting to put
herself in danger, she didnt
pursue the issue as much
as she should have.
When Noynoy came, he
tried to address the issue
but the proceedings are
taking too long. Its still
ongoing until now. As
people say, Justice
delayed is justice denied.
What good do all these
court proceedings do when
it doesnt lead to a
resolution? No one is still
convicted of the crime that
killed so many until now.
What Id like to point out
here is the fact that the
Philippine government is
generally slow in many
aspects, not just in
resolving this case. As Ive
mentioned earlier, there are
always so many plans for
the future. But these plans
are barely put into action.
Its frustrating how things
ended up like this. Im
pretty sure corruption is a
factor that causes such
plans to go to waste. But
aside from that, its also the
fact that priorities are not
properly set.

66

Steady Hope for a Peace


Agreement Between GOP
and MILF

We want to do so many
things without actually
really focusing on the
important ones. Instead of
only taking great measures
to prepare for the Pope, the
government should also be
investing the same amount
of effort in resolving such
cases like the
Maguindanao Massacre.
Its not that the Philippine
government isnt capable.
Its just that theyre not
doing enough.
All I can say is So much
for the Framework
Agreement. Thats all gone
to waste now and all
because of what occurred
around a few weeks ago.
The Fallen 44 incident
definitely severed the
relationship between the
two parties.
It seems like itll be much
harder to patch things up
this time. But to be honest,
I dont think actual peace
was an option yet. The two
parties dont really trust
each other in the first place.
Im not saying its
impossible but that its
rather difficult. The history
and cultural differences
between the two parties
make it hard to truly
reconcile with each other.
Too much distrust is what
caused the Fallen 44
tragedy in the first place. If
there was really any
intention of establishing

peace, then the MILF


wouldnt have reacted in
the manner that they did
right away. They could have
talked with the SAF first
before shooting like crazy.
How can peace occur when
the two parties cant even
communicate with each
other properly in the first
place?
Not to mention the fact that
its highly possible that
MILF really were hiding
those terrorists. The MILF
claimed that they shot the
SAF in self-defense and
that they should have been
informed about the secret
mission. But whats the
point of a secret mission if it
isnt a secret? Its highly
likely that if the MILF were
informed about this, that
the terrorist would have
escaped by then.
Now that its highly possible
that the MILF harbors
wanted terrorists, how can
the Philippine government
trust them? How can there
be peace? The Philippine
government supports the
United States in this fight
against terrorism
wholeheartedly and they
wont stand for anyone in
the country who supports it.
Also, if the MILF was truly
harboring the terrorists,
then they probably had no
intention of keeping peace
in the first place.

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