"Who is Mr. Bert Emphasis?"

Few days ago, many of the leaders who call the shots in the shifting political sands of Cebu Province were assembled by the irresistible charm of the pied piper of the capitol. They signed a manifesto declaring Honorable Representative Clavel Asas-Martinez a persona non grata, an inappropriate term based on its definite meaning in Public International Law.

The manifesto signing was an upheaval largely brought about by the convergence of important, though at times, garrulous, personalities. In that verbose ambiance, a man was unnecessarily pilloried. Unto to Mr. Bert Emphasis, the booming guns of political demigods were trained. We knew why.

Earlier, Mr. Emphasis called on the members of Lakas party to hold their acrid tongue on the pronouncements of Congresswoman Martinez. The lady representative claimed to have a copy of the allegedly wire tapped conversation among the president of the republic and some people which discussion was believed to have planned the commission of electoral cheating. Mr. Emphasis' call, clearly aimed at preserving party unity, was sober but the reaction of important personalities was contemptuous. They perceived the presumptuousness of Mr. Emphasis and were stung by it. Compared to their haloed selves, he was Lilliputian. To demonstrate their exalted position, they used words descriptive of their derision on the stature of Mr. Emphasis. "Who does Mr. Emphasis think, he is?" could sum up their contempt of the man.

Alas, Mr. Emphasis, who might not have actively searched for a public mandate, knew something about keeping a political party ready for any eventuality which many high strung politicians, consumed by their own self-importance, could not care. To use a street jargon, he was not born yesterday. He knew for instance that in the 1998 hustings, his presidential bet, despite being the candidate of the party in power, suffered an electoral disaster on devious account of political treachery.

Not wanting karma to haunt the incumbent president, whom, by twist of events, he has to serve, Mr. Emphasis tried to save her party by preventing any further bellicose declarations. He wanted to stop the word war to give time for the truth to surface. That Congresswoman Martinez said a mouthful was bad enough to Malacañang, and therefore Lakas, belligerent reactions from partymates horrified him. He called for a ceasefire.

Instead of Lakas leaders awaiting for the unraveling of the truth, they plunged head-on to denounce Madam Martinez's sniping at the president for the latter's perceived role in the commission of political fraud. Hostilities were thus openly declared. Our political leaders were in unison in expressly chastising Madam Martinez. Behind their written manifesto, they were quick in exculpating the president from any participation in the allegedly tape-recorded fraudulent election plan.

The more prudent perspective of Mr. Emphasis was vindicated. He aired the caution to release no more depth charges into the murky political waters lest the upward spout toss the political ship in the vortex of dissention. He was, in effect, preparing against a plausible unfortunate turn of events. Indeed, the persona non grata manifesto became a dud. Worse, it boomeranged when no less than the president herself, acknowledged that it was she whose voice was caught by the illegal electronic eavesdropper. This was the same president for whom the political leaders of Cebu threw around their mantle of support, as they believed that the otherwise rapacious words of Madam Martinez were reckless and baseless. Yes, this was the same president whose initial deafening silence on the most controversial topic of the day was the guide for Mr. Emphasis' saying some words of caution like ceasefire.

"Who is Mr. Bert Emphasis?" Had our distinguished political leaders in Cebu province heeded his caution, they would have less problem reconciling themselves with the truth that indeed, it was the president who disregarded the constitutional independence of the Commission of Elections. Mr. Emphasis may not publicly admit this, but the confession of the president may have given substance to the impeachment complaint lodged by Atty. Oliver Lozano.