Mr. Nice Guy no more

By Ermin Garcia Jr.

Happily, I note that our beleaguered Joe de V appears to have found his right bearings finally!

After his initial obvious and awkward attempt to restore “good blood” between him and GMA a day after he was ousted, then was later summarily snubbed by the Palace, it must have dawned on him that “bad blood” is now so much thicker than his version that he has been seen and heard stepping up his criticism of the Arroyo administration like he said he would. For a while, the distinguished former speaker was beginning to sound pathetic, pleading with GMA to lead the “moral revolution” while his admirable wife and  foremost supporter Gina and son Joey appeared more forthright and consistent with their views of her and her family.
 

By now, I would think that JDV has already come to realize  that he had been duped, used and exploited by GMA solely for her political survival, for as long as he allowed himself to be one.  He should know by now that GMA never respected him, worse, she actually despised him all these years. 

It’s time he dons a new body armor with inscriptions on his chest that read: Mr. Nice Guy No More!

* * *

Perhaps asking JDV to do a J-LOZ  (Jun Lozada),  saving  whatever  is left of his integrity by confessing to his sins and become the country’s next great yet unlikely hero, would be asking a bit too much. But certainly Joe de V, a former  “insider’ who once walked GMA’s corridors of power awash with graft and corruption, could be the man who can be the vindication that all the whistle blowers in the past who were humiliated, abused and punished by the GMA regime, have been waiting for.

Perhaps asking the man, he who wanted to leave a legacy as the one who once dreamt to have made parliamentary government a reality, to abandon his dreams and just be a man for others, for truth and for justice, would be asking a bit too much. But JDV, consistent with his dreams to be remembered as the country’s foremost statesman, can be the man who said “Enough is enough” and helped stopped GMA and her rapacious allies in their tracks on their way to the bank with our money. 

Perhaps asking him to finally turn his back on the pork barrel would be too late but he can instruct not only how pork barrel should be dispensed and controlled but how the dispensers can be made to account.

Perhaps he, too, is meant to be great in the manner he never imagined. (Who would have thought that someone like J-LOZ can move a country against a powerful politician?).

Why not?

* * *

THE BEST PRESIDENT NO LONGER. Just when I thought Pangasinan had already taken enough beating with the humiliating ouster of JDV as Speaker, now comes kabaleyan, former President FVR begging to be humiliated.

For reasons known to him alone, the former president has become a source of embarrassment to us Pangasinenses. Instead of leading the clamor for immediate reforms and accountability from GMA, he insists that GMA is indispensable at this time, that there’s no one who can ably replace her, and should, therefore, be allowed to finish her term regardless of the gravity of the corruption charges leveled against her, her family and her government.

He justified his position by saying his considerations are beyond 2010! Heaven forbid! Is it possible that the untimely ouster of JDV had affected him as to appear completely intimidated by GMA and shamelessly join the cabal of plunderers in ensuring her continued stay in power?

By inference, he has not only insulted if not completely demeaned our vice president but suggests that we set aside what our constitution mandates.

* * *

One cannot but wonder if FVR is now telling our people to let GMA be and allow her to continue plundering our nation? Is he telling us that we ought to close our eyes to all the unparalleled anomalies being committed by her and her government?

I don’t think so.

What I think he is doing is a desperate attempt on his part to protect his own interests. What interests, you ask.

I sense that he is plainly insecure about how another future president would defer to him, given what he suffered in the hands of his successor President Erap. From where I  sit, it surely doesn’t take a rocket scientist to presume that  GMA has already likely assured him of his perks and exalted position as the country’s foremost elder statesman if  she remains President; further, that  Executive Ed Ermita, his protégé, will remain as executive secretary and that means his having continued and unfettered access to information on everything.           

I’m afraid my favorite President got it all wrong for our people, again. The first time was when he stood by GMA after the “Hello Garci” scandal exploded in our face.  And look where it led us.  More cheating!    

Now, he’s standing by her again in the biggest cover-up of a failed multi-billion robbery via the ZTE-NBN project.           

And I thought he was keen on keeping his legacy as one of the best presidents this country ever had. My mistake. 

(Readers may reach columnist at punch.sunday@gmail.com. For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/punchline/
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