Behind Masquerades

At PRESSing time

Johana Vi E. Gasga/BUDYONG

It seems that threats of Mayon’s imminent eruption last year are dwindling. Likewise, the month-long sympathetic publicity of some local and presidential candidates with the thousands of evacuees in Albay has been petering out in news screens and in prints.

Indeed, the holiday season is the time for spending much and sharing less. And so, political aspirants in the May 2010 elections did not pass the chance of basking in the limelight while distributing foodstuff and basic necessities for the refugees.
Just after she got off the plane from Hong Kong, President GMA flew again to visit some 45,000 local folks at the evacuation centers in the province. Who wouldn’t be thankful of preserved goods, temporary comforts and amusements? But what we need are long-term solutions providing aid to residents within the 6-kilometer permanent danger zone. These temporary relief or solutions offered by the government would not even ease the discomfort they endured while staying at the evacuation centers, away from their family members (who have been slipping out to watch over their houses at night). Nor would it compensate for their lost livelihood including crops which should have been harvested after leaving their residences due to forced evacuation. In all likelihood, Pres. GMA’s agenda seems to be like a double-edged sword—highly charged with political mileage and making ‘pa-ganda’ points to gain public trust through “public service.”After all, she would be agin pursuing her desire to be a (deceptive) public servant in our ailing country, stressing a line from one of her speeches: “After much contemplation, I realized I’m not ready to step down completely from public service.”

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As if to follow the footsteps of the president, Senators Noynoy Aquino and Mar Roxas, Liberal Party (LP) standard bearers for president and vice-president, respectively, also visited the evacuation camps in Daraga and Legazpi City. They are fake Santa Clauses without the white beard, bringing cheer and hope in an attempt to establish a good image. No surprises to that. After all, the 2010 election is just a couple of months away and the candidates have been scouring every nook and cranny of our country for the best – or shall I say most depressed – place to spread their good deeds to. And the evacuation centers in Albay happened to be the best among the most depressed.

It is a pity indeed how some of the candidates would take full advantage of certain situations just to create a good public image. But it is more pitiable to see how they desperately seek the approval of the public that they would go as far as exploiting the poorest of the poor for the votes they've been dying for. Little saints, that's what the politicians would morph into at the peak of election campaign. But once the election is over and the lucky few get elected, their true form would eventually come back and reveal themselves.

Helping others in times of calamities is one thing. Doing it for their benefit is another.