Been out for two weeks now and Zilch is resurrecting its oomph in the wings of a crazy summer with rains and high temperature mid-day and an erudite denial of that the Aquino campaign did not promise a “rose garden” in 2010. Apart from the rose garden, buzz has been going around on who truly holds the reigns of government in the last 800 and so days of the Aquino administration. And yet another development is the breakthrough in Internet connectivity using the so-called TVWS technology and the creeping potential impact of the so-called sweet spot to the future of the country. The last two points have direct impact to May 2016.
A presidential spokesman is the alter ego of his principal. He speaks when the President has a policy statement to make. He rarely talks but when he talks, its as if it’s the president talking. But then again, in this administration, much has been redefined. According to presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda and again, it seems that he still do not get what the role of a presidential spokesman is, the Aquino administration has promised to implement genuine reforms, it did not say that everything would come up roses. This remark was made due to the persistent complaints by light railway train commuters in Metro Manila who suffer daily from inefficient mass transportation since no action has been made to respond to the issues related to the upgrade of the MRT system. To be frank about it, no Mr. Lacierda, the people were not expecting a rose garden, they were expecting a government that promised “kung walang korupt, walang mahirap.” Looking back, the same government promised “tuwid na daan.”What surrounds the MRT now is an issue of precisely corruption and not the infamous straight path. It is delayed action and not efficient management. But I also remember this government bragged at one time that it “under promises but over delivers.” So where is the over delivery on the issue of the MRT? How about Yolanda? The expansion of the MRT could have been a PPP but even that got derailed. Truly Mr. Lacierda, the people would do a chorus and rightfully start the song written by Joe South and sang by Lynne Anderson by saying, I beg your pardon.
At the rate basic services are compromised because of non-decision or delayed decision, the rose garden can be transformed to a talipapa ably run by the six stooges assisting the inheritor of the iconic symbol. Now who are the six stooges? I would hasten let’s get hold of the book entitled I Never Promised You a Rode Garden. Interestingly, it is a 1964 semi-autobiographical novel of a teenage girl's battle with schizophrenia by Joanne Greenberg.
And so let’s talk about the TV White Space or TVWS, which could probably alter the Internet penetration rate in the country. Telephone companies will be obsolete while TV networks and holders of TV frequencies will rule the communications landscape. Spectrum lords would probably earn much more just by sitting on their frequencies. Using TV White Space (TVWS) technology for increasing Internet penetration in the Philippines would alter the political landscape. Imagine the rural areas being linked to the Internet? That’s a revolution of sorts and the balance of power would probably be fair and inclusive instead of power being with the cities and big municipalities or solely defined by the National Capital Region. Gatekeepers will change, cable would have some degree of influence and manipulative “sharp political strategist” using push polls, releasing partial polls spinning the results to create a herd of support when there is none and dictating and conditioning voters can be less intrusive. If there will be a burst of TVWS because of the shift from analog TV to digital then we can see the peripheries being exposed to the power of social media.
If we can imagine the use of TVWS and attaining a 50% Internet penetration rate, campaigning will alter and gatekeepers will change. The demographic window, the so-called “demographic sweet spot,” basically refers to the period when a nation’s productive working age group (i.e., those 15-64 years old) is larger than its dependents group (i.e., children 0-14 years old and elderly 65 years old above). This “window of opportunity” typically lasts 30 to 40 years before the population begins to age. Bangko Sentral Governor Amado Tetangco announced to investors that the country is entering its “sweet spot” by 2015, making it ripe for business with its larger labor market.
Based on latest census data, the average age of Filipinos is at 23.4 years old. The dependency ratio has also decreased to 61 dependents for every 100 working-age persons. Dependency is expected to decrease as the average age becomes bigger and the labor force larger. This sweet spot is expected to last up to year 2050, when the average age would have increased by 35 years old and the so-called “demographic winter” begins.
The Philippines can take advantage of the expanding work force. This also implies that government should be able to provide jobs, and invest in the education of those enhance labor force to help them get decent employment.
So for those planning for 2016, youth and young professionals will constitute the majority of the voters’ pool. Put together, the formula of TVWS and the country’s sweet spot are potential game changers that a loaded PCOS may fail to understand. The terrain is changing, beware of people talking about promises and Rose Gardens to voters, they may just get a total rejection despite push surveys and elections conditioned by rankings in survey results.
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