WHAT ARE REGAL OLIVA’S WISHES FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE?

WHAT ARE REGAL OLIVA’S WISHES FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE?

As the saying goes, some wishes are easier said than done. Then again, there is another saying that dreams are free anyway, so why not keep dreaming?

In her own straightforward style, vlogger Atty. Regal Oliva has presented a spoken commentary that reflects what many ordinary Filipinos have long wished for: a government that genuinely works for the people. Some may dismiss her ideas as too idealistic, but I believe that most of them are not only achievable—they are already embodied in our own national development plans.

Her message goes beyond any particular State of the Nation Address. It is a reminder that ordinary Filipinos judge government performance not by speeches but by what they experience every day. They want affordable rice, lower electricity and fuel prices, quality healthcare, better schools, effective flood control, decent jobs, and real support for farmers and fishermen. Above all, they want honesty, accountability, and equal justice under the law.

Looking at her commentary from another perspective, I realized that many of her wishes are already reflected in the Philippine Medium Term Development Plan and Ambisyon Natin 2040, the government's long-term vision of a "matatag, maginhawa, at panatag na buhay" for every Filipino. In other words, the issue is not whether the government knows what the people want. The real question is whether it is faithfully implementing these commitments.

I also cannot help but wonder whether we are paying enough attention to our commitments under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Philippines, as a founding member of the United Nations, pledged to help achieve the 17 SDGs by 2030, covering poverty reduction, quality education, health, clean water, climate action, good governance, and sustainable economic growth.

We should remember that when the earlier Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) concluded in 2015, the Philippines fell short of meeting several of its targets. We have less than five years left before the SDG deadline of 2030. It would be unfortunate if we once again failed to achieve many of the goals, especially when they are closely aligned with our own national aspirations.

To be fair, government agencies may already be accomplishing significant progress in many areas. The problem is that there seems to be no organized, systematic, and easily understandable way of reporting these accomplishments to the public. Citizens deserve to know not only how much money has been spent but also how every program contributes to specific development goals.

Perhaps it is time for the national government to establish a clear scorecard showing the progress of every department and agency against the 17 SDGs and the targets under Ambisyon Natin 2040. Such transparency would allow the public to appreciate genuine accomplishments while identifying areas that still require urgent attention.

At the end of the day, Atty. Regal Oliva's wishes are not merely dreams. They are, in fact, the very aspirations already contained in our own official plans. The challenge is no longer writing beautiful visions on paper. The challenge is translating those visions into results that every Filipino family can actually feel in their daily lives.

RAMON IKE V. SENERES

www.facebook.com/ike.seneres  iseneres@yahoo.com  senseneres.blogspot.com  09088877282/08-12-2027

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