Think about it
Can we love our enemy?
By Jun Velasco
“Whoever wants to be the first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many,” Mark 10:44-45
WE were spiritedly exchanging notes with Famas officers on the “heroic” story of the Republic’s first President, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, when we saw a TV news footage about El Presidente’s lead actor Emilio Ramon E. R. Ejercito, now Laguna governor, being ordered by the Comelec to step down on charges overspending in the last elections.
See the variance between reel and real life?
What happened to Gov. Ejercito should be a warning to other governors and/or any public officials.
The charge—overspending—is nonsense.
Any Tom, Dick and Harry will tell you that our politics today requires a lot of money—millions if not billions—in order to win.
Because of that grave requirement, politicians steal to stay in power.
Now, Ejercito’s uncle, Senator Jingoy Estrada, is burning his whole official house—the Senate—because he was named in a plunder charge that’s linked with Janet Lim Napoles.
You ask, what else is new?
Is there any modicum of prestige left in that so-called select members of the Senate? And/or in the House?
Groups led by lawyer Romy Macalintal want the Senate and the House abolished.
To be replaced by a new batch of the same variety?
Pardon the outrage, but the public seems already immuned from any odious word about our politicians today. We must be in the neighborhood of Argentina, as written about by our fellow columnist Gonz Duque, whose officials are stoned when seen in public places. Yes, due to public contempt.
* * * *
At the invitation of former Pantranco President Enerico Sampang, we attended a recent meeting of the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP) at the 5-star Shogun Hotel in Pasay City recently.
We were asked by club president Paul Marcelo, (hubby of the pretty Vicky Bonguyan) sister of our old pal in the Philippine Jaycees, former Davao City Vice Mayor Louie Bonguyan) about how we practise our Christian faith.
We said: “We do our best to love our enemy or enemies.”
He said, “mahirap ata yan; we may love our neighbor, but not our enemy.”
We said, strictly, they are the same; they are our brothers in Christ.
We’ve discussed this with prelates and pastors steeped in the faith that we can love a person—but hate his bad or negative traits. It’s this learning effort, we said, this seemingly tough but exhilarating job that should challenge everyone.
We’ve asked even Ashok Vasandani’s fellow Conquerors that loving one’s “enemy” should be a challenge we cannot shirk.
* * * *
We share a column item by “balikbayan” columnist Gonz Duque (who was grinning from ear to ear Thursday night, with his LNU Dukes ‘murdering’ the UPANG-Phinma’s Flames in the inter-university basketball games) that politics in his father the late former Paco’s time was a far cry from the for-sale politics of today.
As a greenhorn reporter in the 60’s, we were impressed by the prestige and honor associated with politics then.
We saw how brilliantly and elegantly board members clashed on the floor of the Provincial Board.
A remnant of that august body, incumbent Board Member Alfie Bince.
In Dagupan, local Demostheneses included former Vice Mayors Felipe Cuison, Louie Catubig, Manding Fernandez, Councilors Cirilo Rayos, Conrado Beltran, Antonio de Venecia, Jimmy Arzalon, Cesar Villamil, Emilio Quinto, Joe Apilado and others.
The present crop is a far cry from that intellectually gifted and mostly upright local legislators. Today, you get disgusted by their ostrich-like behavior in dealing with the gargantuan thievery of the city treasury. They did they personally profit from it?
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