Bearing the best gift from the King

UNITED NATIONS, New York City – The good news back home rarely finds print in newspapers here. What comes out are stories about killings, kidnappings, and bombings.

So it comes as no surprise that President Macapagal-Arroyo’s bringing back to the Philippines of 200 overseas Filipino workers who had been pardoned by King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud has not been given attention by the media here. For us Filipinos who learned about the fruitful visit of GMA via the internet, this was good news that must be spread around.

In the past, Philippine presidents would come home from state visits with mere pledges or promises of investments from the government of the country visited. So it’s a record-breaking feat for President Arroyo who returned home last Thursday from a four-day state visit to Saudi Arabia bearing solid "gifts" from the King – some 200 overseas Filipino workers whose pardon she has secured from King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud. The King said it was his way of expressing his gratitude to the thousands of OFWs who have immensely helped to build up the kingdom’s economy in the past decades. Appearing to be on a roll, the King even went as far as waiving the blood money for those involved in serious offenses.

According to Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, the mass pardon for the Filipino prisoners was the "first in the history of Saudi Arabia." Delighted with the King’s compassionate act, President Arroyo called it "the best gift that we can bring home to the Philippines." And it truly is.

Some 800,000 Filipinos working in Saudi Arabia remit around $2-$3 billion to their families annually, making them the biggest single source of remittances. There are some eight million OFWs all over the world, and their annual remittances have already reached a record-breaking $10.7 billion, which significantly supports our economy.

The OFWs was just one of the "three O’s" that constituted President Arroyo’s mission on her state visit. The other two are the oil crisis and the request for observer status in the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Concerning the oil crisis, the President has successfully obtained Saudi Arabia’s pledge for a stable oil supply for the country. She has also encouraged Saudi Arabian investors to put up an oil refinery in Mindanao, besides other investments in the fields of mining, agriculture, energy, tourism and information and communications technology.

True to form, the militant group Migrante was quick to put a damper on the President’s successful visit to the Kingdom, saying she was just using the OFWs for media mileage. Migrante was bemoaning the plight of the more than 1,000 Filipino prisoners still in jail. Come on! That is a classic case of "damned if you do, damned if you don’t." Nothing this administration does will ever be good for such groups.

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A democracy always posits the existence of a legitimate Opposition, one that plays the devil’s advocate, a gadfly who keeps the status quo at its toes. While their vigilance may often seem to slow down the implementation of government policies and programs, they actually provide a check and balance, one that prevents the undesirable consequences of making haste. In theory, that is what the Opposition in both Lower House and Senate is supposed to do. But lately, some of their actions come across as grandstanding, a deliberate effort to gain media mileage by goading the established order to do its worst. Such is the case of the so-called Batasan 5.

After spending 70 days holed out in the Batasan complex to avoid arrest, five party-list lawmakers namely Representatives Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis, Satur Ocampo, Teodoro Casino and Joel Virador of Bayan Muna and Liza Maza of Gabriela walked out free. Makati Court Judge Lind Delorino rejected the government’s attempt to include them and 40 other people in the rebellion charge originally filed against Rep. Crispin Beltran of Anak Pawis and rebel soldier 1st Lt. Lawrence San Juan. The five got protective custody from the House after the police threatened to arrest them for alleged involvement in the plot to overthrow President Macapagal Arroyo.

Some wags cheekily compared their enforced stay at the Batasan to that of a TV reality show, which also tested its participants’ grit and endurance to "cabin fever," the difference being the show’s winner walks off with a cash prize, among other prizes. This just goes to show that our irrepressible sense of humor is quick to find inspiration from events ranging from the tragic to the absurd.

But going back to the Batasan 5. Their decision to leave would have been the normal course of events since the legal impediment has been removed, albeit temporarily, according to the government, which is filing for reconsideration. But it seems the manner of departure had to be orchestrated to include all the elements of high drama. First, the five taunted the Justice Secretary by saying that their arrest would be "politically bloody" for the government since any attempt by the police to arrest them as they left the Batasan grounds would be thwarted by their followers acting as "human shields." Clearly, the idea was to create at the very least a furor, since the clash between supporters and police would make for dramatic video and "in-the-thick-of-it" photos. There was also plenty of opportunity for compelling sound bites. In short, a "made-for-media" story. Thankfully, the National Security Council did not play along, and took the wind out of their sails by announcing that no arrests would be made just before the five representatives exited.

Tactics like these can be likened to those of a five-year-old child craving for his mother’s attention and resorts to all kinds of naughty antics to achieve his goal, testing his parent’s patience along the way. When an antic does not work, he quickly goes back to the drawing table and devises a more persuasive, creative one.

The Opposition should know better than to continue engaging in such shenanigans, which detract enormously from their stature. It is what makes me uneasy about the continuing conflict between them and the administration. To question for the sake of clarifying and correcting a policy or program so that it may eventually redound to the greater benefit of all is an opposition’s raison d‘etre. But to engage in dilatory tactics or to deliberately provoke a confrontation even if it is bloody only in the political sense is irresponsible. We need antics like these like we need a hole in the head.

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