From our partners Kabataan Partylist

Mentioning the term wang-wang 28 times in the State of the Nation Address is understandable and expected since the banning of that loud and annoying siren in the streets is one of the few visible and concrete achievements of President Noynoy Aquino. But Pnoy surprised many people when he expanded wang-wang’s meaning by using it as the keyword in the fight against corruption. Today, aside from being a forbidden object, it has become a symbol of corruption and abuse of power. In his speech, Pnoy launched a war against utak wang-wang:

“Imbes na maglingkod-bayan, para bang sila ang naging hari ng bayan. Kung makaasta ang kanilang mga padrino’t alipores, akala mo’y kung sinong maharlika kung humawi ng kalsada; walang pakialam sa mga napipilitang tumabi at napag-iiwanan. Ang mga dapat naglilingkod ang siya pang nang-aapi. Ang panlalamang matapos mangakong maglingkod—iyan po ang utak wang-wang.

“Habang nananatili sa puwesto ang mga utak wang-wang na opisyal, naiiwan namang nakalubog sa kumunoy ng kawalang-pagasa ang taumbayan.”

Pnoy’s definition of utak wang-wang sharply reflects the unequal relations of power in Philippine society. We are one with him in the crusade to end the reign of this brutal kind of mindset. But unlike him, we aren’t convinced that utak wang-wang represents all evils in society. There are other demons to slay like, for instance, utak haciendero.

Read the rest of this essay by Cong. Mong Palatino on the Kabataan Partylist website.