It was all short-lived. Cheer soon turned to gloom when marching citizens were confronted by tens of thousands of poor folk counter-rallying for the very man who had pulled a fast one in their jueteng bets. That those were bused crowds is beside the point. Fact is that they saw not the stark contrast of their shanties with his mistresses’ mansions, but that he spoke their language, albeit with mere movie promises of salvation from penury.
Courage turned to fright when the marchers realized how far they’ve drifted from the poor majority in thought and action. Education is what the masa needs, sure, yet they no longer seem willing to listen to the marchers, many of whom they saw rising to power after EDSA ‘86 while they stayed their poor, neglected selves.
Hope turned to despair. The unexpected signatories to impeach, the gush of defectors, the surprise witnesses began to seem more like fleeting, teasing answers to the marchers’ prayers. Largely left to chance was a trial whose verdict spelled certain acquittal. Largely left to dreams was a people rising in critical mass for long-delayed reforms. Largely left to traditional pols was an untraditional task of starting anew.
Tuning in to the trial, citizens at first saw in it a grand opportunity for mass education on the constitutional process. Details of wealth ill-gotten through coercion and deceit would serve as lesson that never again should they give any man power to mess up their lives. In the end, truth shall set them free to change the system.
But realization set in: Part of the truth is that the man in question will not step down just because the citizens are saying so. Truth is, he will employ money and muscle to counter the outcry – in the mass media, in the Senate court, in corporate boardrooms. And painful is the truth that no leader is rising to transform the people’s longing for change into reality.
And so, in the minds of watchful citizens, truth will not matter in the trial. What will count is the personal partisan interest of eight senators whom they see rising too often to badger witnesses and assail testimonies. Ironically, as each trial day ends with more and more damning evidence of crime presented, less and less citizens expect conviction. Less and less believe that the constitutional process can and will work.
That in itself is reason for reform. But what for, if the poor for whom reform should be done don’t care for it? How, if the man who must be plucked out for change to begin has turned back its tide? When, if the natural, constitutional leader who should have catalyzed the initial cheer, courage and hope of citizens has chosen instead to be led astray.
Perhaps reform is still at hand. After all, it’s the right thing to do. But that will depend on another change in the nation’s mood – from gloom, fright, despair into rage and resolve. And it will depend on the bewildered leader’s finding her bearings from how George Bernard Shaw found thus: "God is no man’s daily druge. If you are worthy of it, He will sometimes snatch you out of the jaws of death and set you on your feet again. But once on your feet you must fight with all your might and all your craft, for He has to be fair to your enemy too, don’t forget that."
Benny Davio, Marikina: Mr. President, do you really expect us to believe your lawyer? The weekend before Christmas, he said he hadn’t seen his daughter’s best friend Clarissa Ocampo in years. On Jan. 2, he admitted he saw her in his office only last Dec. 13.
Gloria Arriola, operamail.com: Re Enrile and Revilla claims on weight of P1,000-bills: Using a Mettler AB 204, a bill is 0.9172g, so 1,000 pcs is 917.2g, less than a kg. P70m will weigh 64.204 kg which, in three bayongs, can easily be carried by two persons.
Randolph Flauta, Japan: As long as the great unwashed masang tanga don’t change, they’ll remain where they are – and deservedly so (Gotcha, 6 Jan. 2001). I’m typically middle-class. I’ll continue to work hard to rise up the ladder. I may not become rich, but I’ll give my children the best education.
Ramon Austria, Cubao, QC: New York-based Audits and Surveys Worldwide says 54 percent of Metro Manilans want Erap to resign, 45 percent want him to remain. Yet 60 percent favor impeachment vs 38 percent against.
Sally Ballera, UP Law ‘72, President, Asian-American Consumer and Civil Rights Advocacy, New York: I am appalled with Miriam’s sarcastic remarks. Jasmine Banal may be young, but she’s of the new generation of Filipinos who must be encouraged to fight for their future. It’s not true, as pathetic Miriam tries to present, that UP lawyers’ career path is dictated by money. Maybe hers is. But many of us dance to the beat of a different drummer. We make personal and career sacrifices to make a difference, and make the world a better place to live in.
Hanzel Leano, edsamail.com: If Miriam sets herself as the model for UP grads, I’m glad I moved to La Salle.
Mario Valderrama, pacific.net: I agree with you that Mr. Estrada shouldn’t be likened to President Marcos (Gotcha, 3 Jan. 2001). Still, it’s wrong to underestimate him. Unlike Marcos during the relevant period, he is neither sick nor helpless. Moreover, Mr. Estrada made a right move that changed the equation. He would’ve been a sitting duck had he not entrusted his fate to clever, profoundly deceptive and ruthless players. With his resources, the optimum situation is to have a unified command with him as dummy chief. He’d have a fighting chance, provided he doesn’t assert himself for the rest of the game. That’s why his ship, though still leaking, is no longer sinking. Some big rats have returned; no more big rats are leaving, only small rats who are replaced twice over by smaller rats.
His problem, though, is that the game will not end with his acquittal. While his long-term goal should be to install a preferred successor, a lot could happen in the meantime.
As for the Opposition, it must shape up and stop its wishful thinking. It did initiate a chain of events without any sense of control and with no brakes. Yet as things stand, its success would be more out of luck than plan. And it should stop dreaming of EDSA-II. That dream may become a nightmare because EDSA-I had a sinister face; it was a fail-safe to a pre-empted coup d’etat whose promoter’s agenda did not materialize.
That’s why we should be wary of the hidden forces – Erap’s handlers whose qualities, among others, are patience and ruthlessness. Their command is unified; they have perspective and are focused on their agenda. Regardless of which visible force will win, whatever they plant now will remain. That is, if they haven’t already won.
Vivian Milam, mindspring.com: The Erap saga was tackled in The Mclaughlan Group weekend TV commentary as "the worst scandal in 2000" (Gotcha, 1 Jan. 2001). Mclaughlan said Erap amassed 11 children from different mistresses, ill-got $12 million, collected mansions, enjoyed midnight gambling. Compared to Erap, he said, Clinton is a saint. And the Cabinet is blind to this?
Joey Legarda, Makati: The garbage crisis is symptomatic of the Erap team. Stench is all over the country, yet they think of nothing but themselves.
Thank you, too, F. Luna, Tom Bautista, Juan Miguel Cacho, Corinna Serrano, Gras Reyes, Noni Tanseco-Cinco, Pancho Umali, Eduardo de la Cruz, Bobby Tordesillas, Victor Gaudencio, Efren Dayauon, E.C. Ibazeta, C.B. Cordoviz, Mar Gatmaitan III, Joey Catama, Gemma Marin, Dr. Gita Asuncion, Del Burgos, Joel Bernasor, Narciso Ner, Dr. Benjamin Garcia-Azcue, John Houston, Fidel Bugayong, Cecil Go, Noli Torres, Bernardo Carpio, Lourdes Agbayani, Manolo Montes, Greg Campomanes, Pimm DeRivera, Ma. Cristina B. Morelos, Ed DeGuzman, Reynald Evangelista, Mon Sagullo, Russell Tolentino, Noel M. Reprado, Alexander Francisco, Edwin Hugo, Caroline M. of Malabon, Marie of Banawe, Q.C.