wang-wang

I am not one for politics in this personal blog of mine but Bahay Talinhaga's Youngblood article published on the Inquirer (thanks to PGENRESTORIES talking about it, of course) is quite familiar. Just a couple of hours ago while crossing Ayala Avenue towards RCBC Plaza, I had to stop (even if it was already "walk" for our side of the sidewalk) because a convoy of government vehicles suddenly came out of nowhere and with their wang-wang demanded ... no, usurped without any respect the intersection of Ayala corner Buendia.

Here's an excerpt:

They Don't Fear Us
Paolo Chikiamco

I am not, generally speaking, a very tolerant man. But of all the things that rouse my ire, I reserve a special, searing hatred for the wang-wang.

My favorite wang-wang anecdote concerns the mad-cap journey of one particular convoy of official vehicles that a friend had the bad luck to witness. All the vehicles had their windows done up in the always trendy opaque tint which reflect dully the red flashes of their sirens. While most of us would automatically assume that the beneficiary of such royal treatment was a high-ranking politician, it turned out that this particular convoy was bearing a famous hairdresser who had presumably been summoned to deal with a fashion emergency of great national significance.

I know that I am not alone in feeling this way; the Inquirer ran an editorial last April denouncing the wang-wang culture of our government officials. In an age when grainy videos of consensual coitus can ensnare the attention of media and government for days, I am fairly certain the matter could do with a bit more exposure (pun unintended) and a lot more indignation.

Read the rest of the article here.

Confront government officials and they will say either of two reasons why there's a need for wang-wang:

a) they need to go to their next destination right away because of their sworn duty to serve the public, if they can get to point B from point A right away, they'll be able to serve their public more, being stuck in traffic is not an excuse

and

b) they, because of the very nature of their job, need to protected from those who wish to deter them from dispensing their sworn duty to serve the public, so the wang-wang system adds security; by being able to move faster, they'll be able to evade those deterrents

But then again, why don't you try and get stuck in traffic and experience the hell the rest of us routinely get exposed to. Maybe, if you understand how your public feels you'll finally be able to come up with solutions to our worsening traffic problems. And while you're at it, pull down the windows of your gas-guzzling vehicles and feel the fresh, smoggy air of the metro. You'll be able to empathize with us more.

And concerning safety, if you were only doing your jobs like you are supposed to then there won't be a problem of security. You won't ever need the wang-wang or those millions of escorts you routinely convoy with. Those escorts of yours are better off protecting your public.

And Paolo is right that they, our beloved politicians who we vote (or not vote but still get voted into office somehow), do not fear us. Hey, we're paying for your wang-wang and you don't respect us. The next time I step in front of your convoy, I the lowly worker who pays for your salary, will you stop and allow me to cross? Or will your gazillion escorts whip out their high-powered firearms and empty their magazines on me?

In David Eddings' series, The Tamuli, the protagonist Sparhawk (on one of his epic quests to acquire so and so item to save the world) was being briefed by the Tegan Queen on the economics and politics of the island nation of Tega. Sparhawk was astonished when he learned that in Tega, individuals avoided being elected into any government office at all costs and he asked the Tegan Queen why it was so.

The Tegan Queen explained that once an individual was elected into office, his belongings were confiscated and became property of the nation (inventoried, of course). This was done so that the elected official would have no other loyalty than to serve the nation. If during the elected official's tenure the nation prospered, he can look forward to a prosperous return of his properties after his days at the office are over (assumption: with interest). However, if the economy of Tega worsened while he was in the office, he would be penniless when his time to step down comes.

It would be great to be able to do that here and firmly enforced by an oversight group specially hand-picked to do this job (an unbiased Ombudsman would be ideal). Once one of our beloved politicos gets voted into office, all his property and money will go into a special treasury bonded with government income. If he does well and gets the Philippines on the right track to development, a chain reaction will follow -- peace and stability, profitability, sound economy -- at the end of his tenure, he gets his property back with interest. If, however, he doesn't do good in office, well, the government and the public get his property as insurance.

Fat chance that will happen anytime soon, right? But heck, maybe it's time for another revolution, it's been 20+ years since People Power, right?

And after that, maybe they'll be no more need for wang-wangs.