From government to political dynasty, 4 presidential aspirants name Philippines' greatest problem

Four presidential aspirants in the 2022 elections participated in The Jessica Soho Presidential Interviews that was aired on Saturday. As first question, they were asked what they think is the country's greatest problem.

For Senator Panfilo Lacson, the government is the country’s greatest problem and one of the Filipinos’ greatest mistake is the lack of hope in the government.

“Ang isang kamalian nating mga Pilipino tumigil tayo na mangarap. We have become dreamless, hopeless and helpless,” Lacson said during the Jessica Soho Presidential Interviews aired Saturday.

(One of the mistakes of the Filipinos is we stopped dreaming. We have become dreamless, hopeless and helpless.)

He said that the perspective of the Filipinos towards the government should be changed and it is the top officials who should lead the way.

“Ang dapat dito baguhin ‘yung attitude ng ating mga kababayan sa ating gobyerno. Kaya ang dapat ang manguna sa pagbabago ng attitude ng mga Pilipino ‘yung gobyerno mismo,” he said.

(What we need to change is the attitude of our countrymen towards our government. The ones who should lead the changing of the Filipinos’ attitude is the government itself.)

For Vice President Leni Robredo, it is the Filipinos' difficulty in learning from the past. 

“Hindi tayo natuto sa mistakes in the past. Maraming mga leksyon na naibigay sa atin sa mga pagkakamali natin nung nakaraan pero paulit ulit natin itong ginagawa at parang hindi tayo natututo, ‘yun ‘yung number 1,” Robredo said.

(We don’t learn from our mistakes in the past. There are a lot of lessons from those mistakes, but we keep on repeating the same mistakes and it seems we are not learning anything from it. That is the number 1 problem.)

“And ‘yung prognosis nito, kailangan talagang ma-embed na siya sa ating educational system, para bata palang naiintindihan na niya kung ano ang mali at ang tama para hindi natin paulit ulit na nagagawa ulit ‘yung mga maling nangyaring in the past,” Robredo added.

(Our educational system should address this, so that children will grow up understanding what is right and wrong, so we don’t repeat the same mistakes.)

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, meanwhile, expressed hope that the political dynasty must end in order to give the public an opportunity to choose other rightful leaders.

During Jessica Soho’s Presidential Interviews, Moreno said this will also give an opportunity for other political aspirants to lead the country.

“Well, una, sana matigil na talaga yung pasa-pasa ng pulitika sa kanilang mga kamag-anak para naman magkaroon ng opportunity yung ibang tao na makapamili no sa mga leader ng ating kaniyakaniyang komunidad at particularly sa bansa kasi nangyayari for the past 40 years,” he said.

(Well, first, I hope that the passing of political powers to their relatives will really stop so that other people will have the opportunity to choose from the leaders of our respective communities and particularly in the country because it has been happening for the past 40 years.)

“Parang nag-aaway dalawang pamilya lang, isang parang yung tungkol lagi sa kanilang mga buhay buhay at pamilya lamang nila at ganti gantihan lang ang nangyayari,” he added.

(It is like only two families are fighting, one seems to be always about their lives and their family and only revenge is happening.)

Moreno did not mention any names.

Senator Manny Pacquiao, for his part, said Filipinos are hard-headed, noting that it is time for the citizens to follow the government.

The former world boxing champion also said coordination is important in following the country's laws.

"Ang kailangan natin unang-una ang problema natin is 'yong matigas din ang ulo natin at hindi tayo sumusunod sa batas. Ang solusyon dito ay kailangan dito ay makipacoordinate tayo at sumunod sa kinauukulan, sa gobyerno," Pacquiao said. --Hana Bordey, Llanesca T. Panti, Richa Noriega, Anna Felicia Bajo/KBK, GMA News