Lamentation from the Land of the Mourning

With tears in my eyes and a heavy heart

I look at my land with despair.

The streets, shanties and farms have become killing fields

as widows and orphans multiply.

The ruler promised to wage war on drugs,

on poverty and on corruption - in 3-6 months!

But the casualties were the poor-- users, lumads, farmers and their defenders

murdered by death squads with or without uniform

killed by bullets or hunger and they could not even afford

to bury their dead and feed those left behind.

The prices of everything continue to rise.

Rice, vegetable, fish, meat, medicine, tuition fee, oil & fare.

Except the price of shabu - they have gone down, thanks to the drug lords,

the Bureau of Customs and the president and his friends.

The phony war on drugs have successfully killed over 20 thousand

 yet tons of drug continue to flood the streets.

Meanwhile,  the Department of Justice is busy filing false charges

against the enemies of the president abetted by congress and 

and the supreme court while plunderers are set free.

We are governed by incompetent politicians

whose qualification is their fame and wealth -

political dynasties, actors, boxers, drug lords

whose only concern is to multiply their wealth

and perpetuate themselves in power.

They craft laws to benefit only themselves and their families.

Those who maintain law and order are criminals –

they lie, steal, murder, peddle drugs, kidnap.

With tears in my heart and a heavy heart

I grieve for friends I lost – some of them priests, nuns, parishioners,

and even relatives- who supported this cruel dictator

and allowed this slaughter to happen.

As a people our collective IQ is so low that we allowed

an incompetent corrupt criminal to lead this nation.

He mocks our beliefs, calling our God stupid

Telling us to stop going to church and kill our bishops.

In spite of all this, so many continue to put their trust in him.

How stupid can we be?

What happened to the heroic people

who deposed a mighty, corrupt and brutal dictator?

What happened to the courageous people

who deposed an immoral & corrupt president

What can this generation be proud of?

No, God has not abandoned us.

Rather, this stupid generation put its trust on the false messiah.

 With tears in my eyes and a heavy heart

full of despair grasping for hope,

I long for the day when we will rise up again

and put an end to this reign of evil.