First Hundred Days

The most mind boggling question which racked every Cebuana's mind last Wednesday was Miss Cebu's final question - If you were the third lady president of the Philippines, what would be your agenda in the first one hundred days?

It was probably the most difficult question I have ever heard in the history of beauty pageants.

 As expected, the contestants gave so-so answers such as using social and traditional media for promoting Cebu, seminars for God only knows what and preservation of nature. Somebody answered about the call for women and gender quality. This year's winner answered that she will do feeding programs.

It might have been stage jitters or the women did not really know how to address the country's problems sitting as president for a hundred days or so.

Being the president is a tough job, a duty that needs digestion and processing. Yet If I were thrown the same question, these would have been my answers to solve the problems of our country.

One of my agenda would be to free the political prisoners as soon as I sit in power. These prisoners have been assumed to conspire against the Philippine government when all they ever did was to cry for the freedom of the country and for the rights entitled to them.

Also it would be time to grant farmers the land they deserve.  Haciendas all over the Philippines have not given the farmers the proper share they have worked hard for. The farm price is outrageously far from the price that we pay in the market, much more in supermarkets.

Lastly, within my powers as president I would call for the total ban of guns. If deemed unconstitutional, a stricter gun ban would have to do. Within the realm of looking after the welfare of the Filipinos is to protect them from the possible danger which they may get themselves into.

Do we really need guns to protect ourselves? The mere intent of acquiring a gun means that there is no safety in our society. Instead, why don't we invest on the police and government security for the protection that we are entitled to as citizens?

I bet when our president sat in office he was thrown the same question. But with a lot of problems to solve and chaos to fix in the Philippines, the question of priority would probably rack his brain as well. We cannot blame the top five candidates of this year's Miss Cebu for blurting the answers they gave.

Now we see how difficult it is to be president. With the billions of resources on hand yet a double number of problems that increases day after day, the job of being one is tough. PNoy deserves an occasional pat on his back for placing the Philippines in a clearer direction now.

**Published in The Freeman newspaper on January 22, 2013