Philippine economy, ok. Political system, very bad.

It seems that we are really heading in the right direction, as far as the economy is concerned. That 7.8% growth in the first quarter is a very strong statement of how resilient our economy right now, probably buoyed by intense election spending and growing remittances. Investments are also growing, but not in the speed we expect. Foreign Direct Investments should improve for the next quarters. What is good right now is the fact that our economy is pumping primed to actually produce more opportunities for the brave.

Growth of the Philippines is expected since opportunities abound in our country. We have a vast market, 90 million plus. We have a highly trained and educated workforce. We have the resources. The only problem right now is really the political system. The reason why economic gains fail to trickle down to the basic masses is simply the inability of the present political system to complement what the economy is, at present, doing.

Our political system should be changed. We cannot sustain such a growth without complementing it with a substantial change in the system. The opportunity to do just that got lost in this administration's translation of reality. Worse, the recent elections did not help in assuaging fears that this administration is behind moves to cement its political hold and is using or has used the elections as a potent tool to demolish its enemies under extremely questionable circumstances.

The credibility of the recently held elections is being questioned slowly by a rising number of groups. This is good. However, short of asking too much, probably groups should start by moving towards political transformation instead of just electoral reforms. There is no more reason for the masses to believe in the integrity of the electoral process. Everyone knows that the recently concluded elections were decided based on faxed results, not entirely based on automated ones.

The system should be changed and customized to allow economic gains to produce multiple effects in the lives of Filipinos. The first step is really political transformation. We should struggle towards eradicating the political dynasties being run by a few economically-established families. We should eradicate government officials involved in the perpetuation of this kind of system, so as to liberate our present political system from its nature, that is, patronage based. Laws cannot simply do this change. There should be stronger efforts towards isolating these breed of individuals from taking active roles in governance.