Move On?

"Move on," goes an advice - solicited or not - we hear from people. At times, it sounds sensible, but there are occasions when it is downright rubbish. Take for example the recent pronouncement of Imee Marcos during a press conference, on those who keep on criticizing her family: "The millennials have moved on, and I think people at my age should also move on as well".

It seems easy for the late dictator's eldest daughter to say such things. Imagine being ensconced in Malacanan for two decades, not worrying what to eat or what to wear or where to study. Imagine enjoying political clout in the Kabataang Barangay, all because her father has seized control of everyone and everything in the land. Imagine having a good life while the populace suffer and shoulder her family's (and cronies') excesses. 

Imee's remarks are callous, dismissive, and irresponsible.

Their ouster and exile in Hawaii in 1986 should have been a wake up call for them to make amends. Their return to the Philippines in the early 90s (followed by that of Ferdinand Marcos' remains) showed the opposite. They came back as though they did not commit anything wrong. Gradually, they have returned to power with Imelda, Imee, and Bongbong having their version of rigodon de honor in select government positions in Ilocos Norte. (Bongbong is currently contesting Leni Robredo's election as Vice-President.)Their strong grip to power and court rulings in their favor - including the burial of the former strongman at the Libingan ng mga Bayani - would not be possible without the blessings of the current dispensation. 

Unless justice is rendered to the many Filipinos who suffered in the hands of the Marcos dictatorship (some of which have never been found up to this day), unless all that the Marcoses stole from the nation's coffers are recovered, unless Marcos' Presidential Decree No. 1177 (a.k.a. Automatic Appropriation Law) is repealed, unless the Marcoses get out of their ivory tower and do concrete actions to repair the damage they have caused, the Philippines will never move on.

As St John XXIII once said "Justice comes before charity."

Nipping Evil at its Bud

Just a few days after the Holy Father's visit in the Philippines, when the country felt blessed with mercy and compassion, the Supreme Court has surprisingly extended these theological attributes to Joseph Estrada, deposed Philippine president and incumbent mayor of Manila. The High Court, voting 11-3, dismissed the disqualification case against him.  Supreme Court Spokesman Theodore Te says: "The majority characterized the pardon extended by Mrs. Arroyo to Mr. Estrada (in 2007) as absolute, thereby restoring Mr. Estrada's qualifications to stand as candidate in the last Mayoralty elections".

Voting for the dismissal were Justices Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, Presbitero Velasco Jr., Arturo Brion, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Mariano Del Castillo, Martin Villarama Jr. , Jose Perez, Jose Mendoza, Bienvenido Reyes, and Estela Perlas-Bernabe. With the exception of Reyes and Perlas-Bernabe, the others are Arroyo appointees.  It seems to me that the first nine justices have remembered their patron, with help of the other two Aquino appointees.  One cannot fail to surmise that this court acted as an Arroyo court!

Voting against the dismissal were Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Justices Antonio Carpio, and Marvic Mario Victor Leonen.  Carpio is the lone Arroyo appointee among the three.

I have been vocal against Estrada's candidacy for mayor of the city of my birth way back in 2013 due to the plunder case of which he was found guilty of by the Sandiganbayan (anti-graft court). Apart from this case, I didn't buy the idea that Erap would just run for a term before retiring (Is there a retirement age in politics? Come on! Imelda Marcos who's older than Estrada is still in public office).

It is unfortunate that Arroyo has granted presidential pardon to a mandarambong (Tagalog for plunderer) not so much for the good of the country, but more for her political agenda. And because Erap had done these sins with impunity (highlighted word borrowed from the the late Msgr. Nico Bautista who once told me how Estrada behaved as a public servant) and never showed any remorse, the pardon became a ticket for him to run for the presidency in 2010 and then the mayoralty in 2013. With the disqualification case being dismissed, this kapalmuks (thick faced) action star-turned-politician is ready for a come-back to Malacañan (God, forbid it!).

I hope that Alicia Vidal and former Mayor Alfredo Lim, the case's petitioner and intervenor respectively, would file a motion for reconsideration. 

Meanwhile, days before this infamous court decision was made, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago filed Senate Bill 2568 that seeks perpetual disqualification for a public servant convicted of plunder, even if pardoned by the president. Plunder, as defined by Republic Act 7080 as the accumulation of ill-gotten wealth through a combination or series of overt criminal acts in the aggregate amount of P50 million by a public official. According to the feisty solon, the theft of such amount is "is unforgivably criminal, and no person who is capable of such act has a place in public office”.

According to the editorial of the Philippine Daily Inquirer: "Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago’s bill seeking the perpetual disqualification from public office of a government official convicted of plunder—even if pardoned by the president—is a timely corrective to the looming threat posed by Estrada running again for the presidency in a never-ending effort to vindicate his name. The bill deserves wide public support and should be passed by Congress, if it knows any better. A crime is a crime—more so if it’s as heinous as plunder. Popularity does not expunge it; otherwise, we can dispense with the justice system altogether and look to the horde, like the old Romans did, for a thumbs up or a thumbs down on a person’s guilt" (http://opinion.inquirer.net/82095/miriams-measure)

I commend Miriam for filing this bill. In spite of her lung cancer, she continues to serve the people by passing bills such as this. If P-Noy is dead serious in driving the final nail on corruption's coffin, he should mark this bill as urgent. Should the bill finally becomes a law, that would be a sound legacy he could leave his countrymen.

St. Thomas Aquinas, whose feast is celebrated as of this writing, once said "To bear with patience wrongs done to oneself is a mark of perfection, but to bear with patience wrongs done to someone else is a mark of imperfection and even of actual sin".  Filipinos are know to be matiisin (forebearance) to the point that we are being robbed in broad daylight. If we condone the likes of Erap and Arroyo (Politicians scratch each others back!) it won't only be ourselves bearing the brunt of their wickedness.Our children and our children's children would surely suffer, the way they are/will be liable to pay the country's debt servicing thanks to Ferdinand Marcos (and his successors). Enough is enough!

Domesticated Truth

Being a Martial Law baby, everything that I could see on TV, read on the newspapers, or hear from the radio were good - the economy was doing well, there was peace and order, everyone  seemed happy. Ferdinand Marcos was our champion. He was the country's savior.

That mindset was shattered that fateful 21st day of August 1983.  It was a Sunday and as I watching TV, there was this scene of a lifeless man clad in white on the tarmac of what was then the Manila International Airport.  I heard from the newscaster that the man was assassinated (that word was new to me then!).   Who was this man I slowly found out as the days went by.

Angelicum School (now College), where my brother, cousins, and I were studying at that time suddenly became encircled by a rosary of people making their way to neighboring Sto. Domingo Church where this man's remains lied in state.

I read in the papers that he was Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr, a senator of the Philippines until Martial Law abolished Congress, gagged media, and trampled on human rights.  But what made my eyes really open were accounts I heard from Manong Teddyboy, my first cousin who was older than me. 

Manong Teddyboy, being the eldest among the magpipinsan, would discuss with us (while riding our grandparents' Ford Fiera to and from school) who Ninoy was and his struggles. If I remember it correctly, my cousin didn't mince words to say that the dictator was the one responsible for Ninoy's assassination.  At first, I was shocked. Could Marcos, the country's champion, do it?  

In spite of that shock, I gradually started to look at our country with a different pair of eyes.  The truth that was domesticated by the dictatorship, the kind of truth that is in favor of Marcos' Bagong Lipunan has been replaced by the real truth embodied Ninoy's bloodied corpse. Doña Aurora Aquino, Ninoy's mother, when asked why she didn't have the remains cleansed and dressed up, said she wanted people to see what Ninoy's adversaries did to him.

Distressing as it may be to the beholder, people viewing Ninoy took away with them a true sense of the nation's situation, a nation that was in tatters not the one that Imelda tried to portray via her fine terno, jewelry, and signature umbrella.  That fateful day in August 30 years ago sparked the need for change. It took three more years for that to happen when Marcos fled and Cory assumed the presidency.

Through Ninoy's death, democracy was restored. And so, since 1986 we have been enjoying freedom of the press, check and balance of the three branches of government, our right to elect, etc.  It is annoying to hear people say "Walang nangyayaring ganyan noong panahon ni Marcos" (Nothing of that sort happened during Marcos' time.). Well, our media was gagged during his time and so only the domesticated truths are known. To say that nothing vile happened during the dictatorship is 100% non-sense!

We complain about the corruption and callousness of our leaders, the PDAF scam, etc.  Who said that the truth will all be pleasant and favorable?  Even Jesus told His disciples that the road to salvation isn't easy.  Didn't John the Baptist forewarn his audience that the Promised Messiah will baptize them with the Holy Spirit and fire (ouch!)?

Let's face it. Democracy has its defects. It may not cure graft and corruption. Investigations may go on ad nauseam.  The truth it promotes or aspires to uphold may be ugly, painful, or divisive.  Still, it is the truth. Live with it!