PBBM: Ka Mon, what is this I hear that by 2045, it will be another century of oppression against the poor mostly farmers should the Department of Agriculture not do anything to correct its policies and programs to extricate majority of our people from poverty.
KA MON: With the American colonizers giving us our independence in 1945 even with the public education system they introduced, people never got out of poverty because the few who controlled government and business, just like the Spanish friars during Spain’s colonization of our country, kept the people ignorant so they could not demand equality in opportunities and wealth. Fast forward to 2045, we still cannot consider ourselves free because majority of our people are groping in poverty as a few or just 1 percent are wallowing in wealth, positions of power and influence. Just like "Ibarra" of Jose Rizal's NOLI ME TANGERE said that the people are oppressed because of lack of education.
PBBM: But now we have free education, how can the people be oppressed.
KA MON: Yes, those who got educated are now being oppressed in other countries as modern -day slaves and in the Philippines for lack of farm credit for their farmer-parents. And so Elias, the rebel in the novel says only a revolution and independence will free the poor from oppression of foreigners in connivance with mestizos and the guardia civil who are also Filipinos as depicted in the movie *Maria Clara and Ibarra."
PBBM: Ka Mon, pls explain how the Rizal novel is connected to our times especially under my administration.
KA MON: Mister President, it is now time for you to reform the society in addition to reforming the DA. The society at present is no different from the time of Rizal. An example is the unfolding events in Negros and other sugar areas. The politicians today are like the friars or prayles of Rizal's time. The difference is the people are oppressed because of poverty and not lack of education. The incidents are the same where money is controlled by the politicians, who also monopolize local business and gambling. Worst is they have controlled the police so that those who oppose them are killed even if he is a Governor.
PBBM: Are you telling me that events today in Negros and other parts of the country as depicted in the "Noli" of Rizal is still prevalent today?
KA MON: exactly Sir. Since you were educated in Europe you might not have read the novels of Rizal which is a required subject in the Philippines education system. Google in fact has this to say: “teaching Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo is still relevant. The Philippines today, with 110 million people and whose wealth is in the hands of less than one percent of the population, still suffers from the social cancer that Rizal denounced in his masterpieces, the Noli and the El Fili. So, you might ask your staff to see the movies about Rizal and our heroes and that of Andres Bonificio.
I understand from Ka Sonny (who used to be a consultant of the Political Affairs office of your father) that the Office of the President has a staff that selects movies and books that you should read including news clippings mentioning the President’s name every day. Now for lack of space may I refer you to the tele series (in Netflix) titled MARIA CLARA and IBARA that was filmed mostly in the church of Sta. MARIA, ilocos Sur. It is a modernized version where the story revolves around a modern Maria Clara to make it easier to understand which concludes that "love cannot survive in a decadent society and that there is no better love than love of country.”