Babe's Eye View article

While anti-GMA groups continue to squeeze the ZTE-NBN issue to the bone with those innocuous-looking photos of the President and the First Gentleman in a golf course in China, the fate of typhoon "Butchoy" victims largely go unnoticed. Over 1,000 families in Sultan Kudarat, North Cotabato and other affected areas were displaced, with an estimated P43 million worth of agricultural products like rice and corn damaged by the heavy rains.

A few days ago, a landslide occurred in a town in Negros Occidental, while villages in South Cotabato continue to be submerged in flood waters. A geological hazard assessment showed that in Central Mindanao, 256 barangays are prone to flooding—putting the lives and livelihood of the people in danger once the typhoon season starts to intensify.

Instead of concentrating on more urgent matters, some people find it more expedient to beat a dead horse. Unlike their more noisy counterparts however, there are many of those who find nothing extraordinary or overly alarming about the sight of the president and her husband sharing a golf umbrella, or that of a man bending over a smiling GMA perched on a golf cart.

True, a picture can say more than a thousand words but unless you see a photo of somebody's hand caught inside the jar, you can't presume that person to be guilty of stealing a cookie. And as some have pointed out, being president shouldn't mean one can no longer enjoy a game of golf or have lunch with businessmen.

The ZTE-NBN issue is something that is best left for the Courts to decide—and not tried in the court of public opinion which, unfortunately, seems to be happening again. Some are also wondering why—if indeed there was something highly "mysterious" about that golf game—former speaker Joe de V kept mum about it considering that he has become a vocal critic of GMA.

Even Chiz Escudero has cautioned his colleagues against reviving the ZTE investigation in the Senate since there is a pending motion for reconsideration before the Supreme Court. The same should also hold true regarding Meralco. The parties should bring the matter to the proper courts instead of engaging in a protracted verbal war that will only muddle the entire issue.

Like I said, there are more pressing problems everyone should focus on. The rising cost of oil, the global food and rice crisis are just some whose devastating impact on people all over the world cannot be overemphasized. The United Nations has warned that the world economy is teetering on the brink with growth projected at a very low 1.8 percent this year, and the problems will most likely continue well into next year.

While developing countries will reportedly not suffer as badly as the United States, that's still small consolation considering that what happens to the US economy will ultimately affect the rest of the world.

Hunger and poverty have become such serious problems worldwide. Consider the numbers: approximately 25,000 people die of hunger-related causes everyday; two billion are struggling with high food prices everyday; 3.5 million children die every year due to malnutrition; and people in more than 30 countries are taking to the streets to protest the rising cost of food. Just a few days ago, French workers including teachers staged a strike and marched through their cities in a widespread protest against their government's plan to cut jobs.

Here in the Philippines, employers are facing a dilemma. While they want to increase the pay of workers, this could result in job lay-offs and even the closure of many small industries that could not afford the wage hikes.

According to a recent survey, 70 percent of Filipinos said they have difficulty buying food and paying for water, electricity and other basic services. With school opening just around the corner, we will be faced with the perennial problem of shortage of classrooms, books and even teachers.

Every year, the Philippines gets hit by an average of 20 typhoons. Remember "Reming" and "Milenyo" which battered Metro Manila, devastated the Bicol Region and plunged the whole of Luzon into darkness in 2006, or "Egay" in 2007 which destroyed millions of properties including agricultural crops and displaced thousands in several provinces in Luzon? The same thing could happen again, with the typhoon season already here—as seen in the destruction wrought by "Butchoy" in Central Mindanao.

Aside from typhoons, the Philippines is also vulnerable to earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions and other natural disasters which have been a major cause of severe damage and loss of property in the country. According to a recent report by the Asian Development Bank, these disasters affect an average of eight million Filipinos every year, with the poor especially in the rural areas being the hardest hit since many of them lose their means of livelihood in the process.

And to those who continue to turn a blind eye on the fact that an unmanaged population exacerbates poverty, pollution and other problems that plague the country—wake up—the worst is yet to come. The brutal murder of 10 people in a bank heist in Cabuyao, Laguna is an indication that the crime rate could go up again.

No doubt corruption is a serious issue, but it cannot be resolved overnight. Inciting people to another revolution is certainly not the answer. What the country needs is an agricultural revolution to feed hungry people. Obviously, those ZTE photos will not spark a revolution. But photos of massive hunger, acute poverty and food riots could trigger a revolution none of us would want to see.