Adieu to September

We're now in October, very early October. The events in September, both national and international still reverberate in our minds. So what are these, at least to me, that still exert a wallop?

Firstly, I must say: Pope Francis visit to the U.S. It's quite rare to see a human being exert a magnet to millions who see in him the personification of goodness, of affection, of simplicity and utter lack of pomposity. For Pope Francis has decided to get down from the usual lofty perch of popes and mingle with the crowd. Some popes now dead have done this before, but Pope Francis – Francisco, he puts it, has carried it to new heights (or new depths in the sense that depths refers to the misery of the poor, the helpless, the powerless who are usually remembered only during political elections.)

Pope Francis conquered New York, Washington D.C., Philadelphia in a grand unprecedented fashion, eclipsing the visit of the Chinese president.

One of the more relevant issues touched by Pope Francis was – climate change. In December, the nations of the world will again converge in Paris and try, this time, to effect concrete results in reducing the severity of the onslaughts of the weather.

There used to be a saying that, “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it”. This may have been true a long time ago but the world has realized that man's activity – the act of travel, of manufacture of commerce, and indeed the mere living out an ordinary life contributes to “global warming”, the threat of which, if not assuaged will result in massive loss of lives and property.

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In the local scene, of course, the last part of September has seen the declaration by Senator Poe of her intention to run for president. This has caused the focusing on her status as citizen of this country. Many lawyers, including a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court are reported to favor Poe's basic capacity to run. The Supreme Court will probably rule on the matter, after the Senate Electoral Tribunal issues its own view on Poe's qualification.

The more hilarious happening in the last day of September is the announcement by VP Binay that he will lead a “people's power” against the presidential winner if he is cheated. (Or if there is cheating). There is always some cheating in elections. The extent of it the critical point. The traditional instruments of electoral efforts in the “old days” were goons, guns and gold. Will these be used again?

As I write, Binay's rating has again suffered a decline.

We should hope and pray that Pres. Aquino remains a stickler for the rule of law. Most Filipinos believe he will not permit the mangling of the people's will by the three Gs.

As September merges with October we are hoping that the candidates will spell out what they can do for the country. (I am not referring to plans distributing Viagra for the incapable and diapers for the incontinent) What will the candidate do for the people's health care, what plans to increase opportunities for employment – is the candidate an enthusiast for manufacturing and industrialization; what is his/her plan to make agriculture more productive; his/her plan for peace in Mindanao. His/her plan to insure steady supply of water and electricity. What is his/her attitude towards more stable American basis in Subic to counter Chinese territorial exuberance. His/her attitude towards amending the constitution to allow foreign ownership of Philippines real estate. These are just the tip of the ice-berg. There are many more items/problems that will rear their heads as time goes on. The complexity is profound.

So we say good bye-to September and the many by-gone Septembers of our lives.

We welcome October.*

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