The Dangerous Illusion of “At No Cost to the People”

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

They say the most dangerous lies are the ones wrapped in the language of generosity. “At no cost to the people and the government,” they promise — as if salvation can be served for free, without hidden debts, without invisible strings. But when such words come from the mouth of a billionaire whose empire thrives on the very industries that birthed the crisis, the promise is no blessing. It is bait.

We are told not to point fingers. Yet, how can we ignore the obvious culprits? Who has been reclaiming coastlines and building over wetlands, despite repeated warnings from scientists and environmental institutions that these projects will worsen flooding? Who digs deep into the Sierra Madre for mining and quarrying, gutting the mountains that shield us from storms? Who intimidates and harasses indigenous peoples and local communities to bulldoze through questionable ventures?

These are not the actions of ordinary Filipinos struggling to make ends meet. These are the moves of corporations with unlimited resources, backed by political muscle, armed with permits that make the destructive look “legal.”

Each time another reclamation is approved, each time another forest is flattened for “development,” we are told it is for progress, for jobs, for the future. Yet the only future this ensures is one where the land is more fragile, the seas more aggressive, and the people more vulnerable. The phrase “at no cost” becomes a cruel joke — because the cost is paid not in pesos, but in lives, livelihoods, and the irreversible loss of our natural defenses.

This is not crab mentality. This is about stripping the mask off a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It is about refusing to let polished rhetoric distract us from the bloody footprints it leaves behind. For as long as the projects that shape our nation are not rooted in the well-being of our communities and the preservation of our environment, every grand promise will remain a hollow performance — one we cannot afford to applaud.

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