HAILED AS THE nation with the longest Christmas celebration, Filipinos began preparing for the holidays long before December, budgeting and planning for the next Noche Buena amid relentless price hikes. Yet, while homes illuminate with festive lights, the Yuletide season exposed a grim irony: that justice is yet to find its place at the dining table.
While families scramble to do what they can to make the season whole, the waters that continuously swallow communities expose a far more miserable story. Acknowledged but not resolved, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in August that around Php545 billion was allocated to alleviate flood issues in the country—funds that have since been marred by allegations of corruption and misuse.
Only two months later, over a hundred people perished in Cebu because of Typhoon Tino and Super Typhoon Uwan, making up more than 50% of the total deaths caused by the typhoons, which totaled 269.
Despite the persisting consequences of the flood control anomalies, name-dropping schemes by both President Marcos Jr. and other lawmakers, and promises of swift accountability before Christmas Day, no high-ranking official or contractor has been convicted.
Once again, Filipinos are told to rely on resilience, when what they needed was prevention from a system that works—one that spares people from being conditioned to survive disasters that are no longer unavoidable.
Aside from these, quality lives are yet to be felt by the people. Instead of providing effective solutions and assistance to those on the poverty line, Secretary of Trade and Industry Cristina Roque suggested that a Php500 budget for Noche Buena is enough for a family of four. This remark was met with public backlash, for it displayed a government official’s detachment from the lived realities of households grappling with rising food prices and stagnant wages.
This irony seemingly shows why Filipinos resort to resilience instead of being adamant on relief, as they are forced to celebrate within the narrowest of margins while those clothed with the responsibility of alleviating our lives speak from worlds merely encountering hardships.
Once more, the people are left to stand up for themselves. These ongoing assaults on integrity have caused numerous rallies led by multisectoral groups to erupt, filling streets with calls for transparency, prosecution, and an end to the cycle of impunity. Yet, these calls remain unanswered.
As Christmas draws near, with accountability nowhere to be found and conditions continuing to worsen, one is left to ask: what is there for the nation to truly celebrate?
May hope, along with real actions, flourish amidst what seems to be never-ending—for in the season meant for hope and renewal, the true gift Filipinos deserve is justice long overdue.