What happened to the promise?

So, what happened to the 20 peso worth kilo of rice?

I remember when I was in my early teens, I would walk on one early evening and pass by a group of older teen males (probably the neighborhood gangbangers) casting devious stares on me , on my way to the sari-sari store to buy a kilo of rice which then cost a little less than 20 pesos. Then I would walk home on the less convenient way along the railroad tracks or along the highway, because I was too creeped out to go back the same way I went, for fear of getting mugged or chased. As time went on, I lost track of how much it costs. I just ate it. I didn’t really mind how expensive it was getting to be. I only assumed that it stayed at a reasonable price. I think it would be more than a decade later that I would be snapped out of it when a friend complained on how expensive rice had become. (Back then, it had not reached quite close to 50 pesos and they were already complaining.) then, I thought to myself, “Really? I didn’t know.”. I guess that shows the Level of my social awareness.

I have asked this quite a few times already. What happened to that certain campaign promise? What happened to the promise that a kilo of rice would cost 20 pesos? As soon as a BBM victory became apparent, his economic people did not wait for June 30 and reportedly, got to work with farmers and all the players involved in its commerce on making a 20 peso worth kilo of rice a reality. Some reputable personalities supported the initiative with assertions towards its feasibility. They said that it was doable, and it should have been done long ago (supposedly emphasizing on the idea that only BBM had the strength to actually accomplish a significant feat that had long been so simple.) Being the economic moron that I am, I was starting to get partially convinced, thinking to myself, “Hey, maybe they could pull it off after all”. Then, onions became expensive. Sugar became expensive. Rice became more expensive… way more expensive. So, what happened?

So, what was that? Was that a cleverly crafted campaign concoction, specially designed to confusingly convince the common folk? Who wouldn’t want more affordable rice after all? So, when someone promised a kilo of rice that could be bought by a single red peso bill, people just abandoned common sense, critical thinking, and consideration of probability and jumped on it all the way, body and soul. Now, not only has the promise not been kept, the reverse of it has been done more than twice over. Not only has the promise of faithfulness not been kept, your boyfriend/girlfriend cheated on you more than twice.

I don’t know who to blame, the one who made the promise to lead people on or the people who chose to be led on with that promise. I guess, that’s how the game goes. If you want to win an election, you have to come up with a clever campaign scheme that would convince people. If you want some decent governance, you should be able to see through a cleverly crafted empty promise to avoid falling for it. I guess, it’s all a game of cat and mouse, to see who outwits the other.

I have another question. Who again is the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture? Shouldn’t he be the one responsible for what goes on with the agriculture in the nation? So, if the price of rice goes awry, should it not follow that he is responsible? Do onions also fall under his jurisdiction?

I have one more question. All Presidents assign secretaries on departments and heads of agencies. Rarely does a President himself hold the position of a secretary of a department. I flip through memory, but I don’t remember past presidents doing that. Maybe, there had been one more who did that, that I just don’t remember. Why was a Secretary not appointed? I suppose, when a boss does something like that, he wants to ensure things are done right on that department. I guess, it only means that no one else in the office could do it right, so he’s doing it himself. So, you would expect that that department would perform better because the boss himself is running it. In no time, it will be running smoothly and the boss would hand over the office to a qualified head. Now, what if things get messed up all the more?