Think about it

 
Lift PP 1017 now!
By Jun Velasco

 

 

 

 

 

 

QUOTABLE quote: “Treat everyone with kindness, even those who are rude to you, not because they are not nice, but because you are nice.”

*          *         *

We are in the midst of a political tornado. President Gloria Arroyo was pushed against the wall and, as a counterfoil, came out with Proclamation l0l7 to stay on and hold the republic. All these noise and condemnation against her action are natural public reactions against perceived curtailment of freedom, which came at a time the nation was observing the 20th year anniversary of Edsa l986 when the late Ferdinand Marcos, a confirmed dictator, was toppled from power.

Last week, we said in this column that the President has in her possession intelligence information that is not available to the common man.  This is a unique privilege for heads of state, although this intelligence material may not be accurate, as it did President Bush vis a vis the vaunted WMD nuclear weapons Saddam Hussein was supposed to be hiding.

As of press time, some congressmen who were behaving like GMA’s detractors headed by former journalist Satur Ocampo sought refuge under Speaker Joe de V’s wings at the House when lawmen went to work. This curtailment-of-freedom episode reminds us, Al Mendoza, Ermin Garcia, Gonzalo Duque and this writer of l972 when Ferdinand Marcos clamped the nation under martial law. (The speaker by this time should have urged the lifting of the controversial presidential order, if you had read his body language).

Observers say the l972 and 2006 tumults have striking similarities. Could be, but in l972 the clamp-down on media was complete, total, comprehensive.  Today, you need only switch on your radio and television sets to hear continued attacks against the President and the government.

We hope Presidential Proclamation l0l7 is lifted soon. We dread the day the lowly sergeants and gun-toting corporals in some remote towns would kick anyone they find “ugly” or obnoxious because they misinterpret their newly acquired authority. The sinister side of martial rule may not be seen in the cities and well-informed towns, but you can stretch your imagination on what would happen in the remote parts of Mindanao and even in Luzon. God forbid!

*          *         *

Beerkada lawyer Raul Lambino is creating waves in Manila’s talk shops and political enclaves as an articulate defender of President Arroyo and the proposed shift to unicameralism.  A product of the University of Pangasinan, Raul has surprised everyone, first because he was a lawyer of the late FPJ, and second, because he is now on the forefront of the Arroyo government as an articulate unofficial spokesman.

While drawing the line between license and freedom in a late talk show, Raul amazed Commissioner Al Fernandez and Mayor Jolly Resuello who were watching him at Inn Asia’s giant TV set that the greenhorn has suddenly metamorphosed into a guru.

We thought Raul has absorbed the articulateness of boss JDV, whom he idolized, but we hastened that his hobnobbing with FPJ’s legal staff during the campaign must have sharpened his political insights even more.       

*          *         *

Some skeptics kidded us for “wasting” (sic) our time propagating the thoughts and advocacies of our National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal when, they aver, we should be in the thick of things bringing down the government of President Gloria Arroyo or upholding it.

Maybe, these myopic observers were not reading our column items which were all advocacies of building the ideal society and good governance, away from the radicals’ abrupt “change politics.”  We believe the present hardships are “birth or rebirth  pains” or  adjustments of a country in turmoil due to politics or a  political conflict, which, seen through an incorrigible idealist’s eyes, is a prelude to a national liberation – not from the immediate problems which is impossible, but from the whole amalgam of  problems that have plagued the nation.

In our view, the safest formula is to follow the hero’s  prescription, which is to educate the people, rid themselves of  biases and prejudices, refine their outlook and inspire them to reach  the highest ideals and   gradually push the nation to political maturity so they won’t anymore  indulge in  destructive and self-serving  practices. Yes, if it is self-serving, it is destructive.
         

*           *          *
  
Ashok Vasandini texted us this: “Faith is like swimming. If u struggle, u will sink. If u rest u will float. When u pray, don’t beg or struggle. Simply believe. That’s how faith works!