The title reminds me of an essay written by my favorite columnist, Conrado de Quiros. I’ve read it from his book, Dance of the Dunces, a collection of his essays printed in the Inquirer from the early ’90s.
My friend Dash lemme borrowed the book. Too bad, it’s not available anymore in the bookstores. I would love to own one, also his first book, Flowers from the Rubble, of which I heard good reviews of.
Anyway, going back to the title, De Quiros’ referred to the national animal as not anymore the carabao, but, the teachers. If you want to know why, please, find the book, hehehe :p
but, to give you some idea, I’m posting my one-year old essay here, originally entitled, a rather elusive dream:
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My aunt, a public elementary school teacher, has been asking me if the wage hike would finally be approved. I only gave her a shrug. Not because I don’t know the answer to her query or not at all interested in answering her. But because, I know, with the current illegitimate occupant in Malacañang, the legislated wage increase that has long been anticipated by the workers, as the song of Tom Jones goes, remains “an elusive dream.”
Somehow, I don’t want to give that kind of impression to my aunt. After all, she and the rest of those who have to break their backs and wrack their minds to put decent food on their tables, give their children proper education, among others, deserve to have that kind of hope. The hope of getting what is rightfully theirs. The hope of alleviating their condition in the midst of our nose-diving, pathetic economy.
But, what’s frustrating is the automatic declaration of Malacañang to veto the P125 across-the-board wage increase, right after the Congress approved the Bill on its 2nd reading. Just imagine a brazen declaration from a (non)leader whose credibility is marred with massive corruption, electoral fraud, widespread human rights violations, among others!
But well, what can the people expect? Even when the legislated wage hike would be given in a staggered manner and is currently gaining favor in the Senate, our current government would do everything it its power to block it. (non)Pres. Arroyo clearly has a penchant in giving utter miseries to the workers and the rest of the Filipinos. It is very very clear that with the imminent vetoing of the legislated wage hike, (non)Pres. Arroyo is kowtowing the demands of big local and foreign capitalists. She clearly has no heart for the workers and the poor.
I may be sulking with this situation right now, but, I still find victory in the struggle for the wage hike. I mean, it’s been more than five years since the Bill (principally authored by Crispin ‘Ka Bel’ Beltran) was passed and underwent ‘exaggerated’ deliberation in the Congress. At last, it passed through the 2nd reading. That’s already something.
Next time my aunt asks me, I’ll just tell her that, “the fight is not yet over.” And it would only be if she, her co-teachers and the rest of the people would really stand up for it. Then, maybe, it will not be an elusive dream, after all.
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with minor revisions.
