Arsenio Evangelista's desperate words resonate to every Filipino Father

Arsenio Evangelista, father of murdered car dealer Venson, seems to be a pretty good spokesperson for those who want nothing more than see this country burn to hell. And I understand that.

As a father, who just saw how brutally his son was killed, I would not mince words. I would not choose my words. I would definitely say and tell the world how I really feel.

Arsenio's words that he and his family would just migrate somewhere in North America because the business situation here has gone from worse to worst, are normally heard from numerous fathers throughout the country.

Fact is, every single one even of middle and upper-middle class families, want nothing more than go someplace else, unmindful of the risks and just be, out of this country.

I heard this several times before, even from well-meaning friends of mine, who seemed to be better situated than others, but still long for that snow covered mountains of Canada or the dirty beaches of Miami, Florida.

And I bet my bottom dollar, that when fathers everywhere hear what Arsenio Evangelista said, they would even envy him.

Arsenio's situation is better than the rest of us. He has the United States or Canada to go to, while every single one of us is left here, damned to just suffer what this government or any government for that matter, has to dish out for us.

High food prices, higher oil prices still, high fare rates and no one seemed willing enough to shout to the whole damned world how despicable and dangerous life has become since the May 10, 2010 elections.

And even as we commemorate that "second" revolt that saw many of us going to the streets to topple a perceived "dictator", many feel hollow inside, as if there is nothing left to expect from a life here in this beautiful country dictated by a few malevolent big-time thieves.

EDSA Dos was supposed to change things, but after nine long years of turmoil, deceit and suffering, the people's lot became worse, while those who orchestrated the pseudo-revolt left government with billions stashed under their names.

EDSA dos actually exposed the intense intra-elite conflict into a higher gear, with some segments of this class, thinking themselves as moralist saviors, militating against the entrenched segment.

The militation, albeit, was all air. The despised regime moved on, and finished its term without any harm upon one or at least some of its member thieves.

The solution that the elites thought was the "democratic way" through an election. The election of Noynoy Aquino presented a good alternative, especially to the middle class, whose character was that of a democratic religious pacifist. Aquino's rhetoric resonated and in fact, even infected the Socialist segments of Philippine society, whose members enthusiastically threw their support behind Noynoy.

What happened in fact, was not a final solution to the problems of Philippine society, oh no. What actually happened was the resolution of the intra-elite conflict.

This conflict was based on morality, and the Aquino brand name was nothing short of benevolent branding.

This conflict was not actually deeper than anything but the moral way of doing things. Meaning, you can oppress the people, especially the workers, for as long as the law allows you and for as long as you stay "clean".

The elite class tolerated the use and abuse of power, for as long as the head of the State remains or perceives as "clean". In the case of Arroyo, there were overt acts of large-scale thievery that disrupted the entire operations of government. These large scale acts of thievery were noticed by an elite whose dictum is simply rob the poor, but not as big as a billion.

The Arroyo surpassed other administrations for its wanton display of wealth, its immoral use of the Law to justify its thievery, and its use of police power in suppressing dissent. This was the core issue that justified the militation of the "democratic socialist" segment of the elite class.

With this out of the picture, the elites can now continue suppression since they are banking on the perceived positive political capital of Noynoy Aquino.

But, as many political analysts know, this political capital is largely dependent on the way the economy behaves. If the economy behaves as poorly as perceived, and government is unable to provide safety nets for the poor, then, trust that this capital will dissipate as quickly as what happened to Erap.

The fall of Noynoy's political capital is just a matter of time; and the question is not when but how fast it falls.

Any student of political economy would surely predict that this capital will dissipate as early as February or March, when the effects of this series of higher price hikes would gravelly affect the broad segments of the populace.

Of course, expect no food rallies nor a sudden surge of food riots as what Argentinians or Tunisians did. Riots are way out of character for Filipinos.

Filipinos have their way of expressing their personal rage against the system—they will continue their small acts of violating the very laws of the system which is the cause of their suffering.

Expect the rise of criminality as the way of the poor to get back at the elites. Expect the disruption of the way of life of the elites and the continued oppression of the rights of the middle class.

Arsenio Evangelista represents the middle class, and how this class reacts when caught in the middle of an intra-elite maelstrom—go out and seek greener pastures abroad.

Whenever the elite messes the affairs of the State big-time; the ones who suffer from the brunt of their mistakes are members of the middle class, who hovers, between a comfortable life and the life of the poor. As the economy turns from bad to worse, social mobility becomes harder and slower. As few people ascend the rungs of the social status, many actually descending from the middle, comfortable status to a status of a wage earner, this develops into a State security problem.

And the only solution left is either stay and die as a pauper or ship out.