A few good men

By Marifi Jara

The truth? You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth!

Not verbatim I think but those were some of the most memorable lines delivered by (the eternally groovy actor) Jack Nicholson in his powerful courtroom acting in the movie A Few Good Men.

I can almost imagine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo blurting out those words, perhaps with more fury than Nicholson’s stiff-collared Col. Jessep character, in the midst of the public uproar triggered by the series of scandals hounding her administration and her own family.

GMA appears to be sending that message to the people in a subtle way by expertly stonewalling all the issues. She does that by shrugging off the allegations and resorting to a rather haughty defense: “I am still the President”.

She said that in public, ironically, on the day the nation was celebrating People Power. It is ironic because more than anything, that event 22 years ago embodies the supremacy of the people’s force over the authority of one person. Another irony of the celebration, which GMA opted to disregard, last Monday, February 25, was that the people – the ordinary citizens – were practically barred from the EDSA shrine. Our officials, the police and the military seem to have forgotten the very soul of “people power”.

Just like Col. Jessep, GMA is mistaken in believing that those who are demanding for the truth cannot handle it.

The truth could be bitter. But it is a pill that the nation is very much willing to swallow as demonstrated by the sustained rallies attended by an ever growing number of citizens, including here in Pangasinan last Friday, as well as all the exchanges going the rounds of the online Filipino community.

Transparency must be the foundation for good governance.

And we do not simply want a general truth such as the truth that corruption is deeply rooted in our government and society in general. We already know that. 

What we want now are specific truths so that we can demand for accountability through the courts of true justice.

What we want now, 22 years after we stood up against the corruption and tyranny of martial law, is to show proof that EDSA 1 was not a mere fluke in our history, that we Filipinos are indeed a people who value honesty and want good men, though often seemingly few, to lead our country.

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