The fight syndrome

For more than an hour last Sunday the entire country was electrified as people thrilled to the punching prowess of their hero, Manny Pacquiao. Men and women, young and old, had their eyes glued to the tv sets and every now and then explosions of glee could be heard as the Pacman smothered his Mexican antagonist with one-two-three combinations.

The fight was a worldwide sports phenomenon. But here in the Philippines, it was not just a phenomenon - it was a national craze.

Even as the Filipinos were jumping with joy at the Pacquiao escapade, another battle scene was shaping up in Congress. There, a cabal of legislators was drawing up its battle plan on its next skirmish with PGMA, also with one-two-three combinations, but this time with impeachment charges.

When Congress resumes session two weeks from now the battle lines will have been drawn. Then as before, the opposition will wax high as they grandstand before the cameras and mouth their charges, while outside the militant and cause (disoriented?) groups will shake the earth with their catcalls against PGMA.

True to form, these street parliamentarians, who seldom act as parliamentarians but as rubble rousers, will bait the police into a scuffle right in front of tv crews for dramatic exposure here and abroad.

In Mindanao, a battle - a bloody one at that - was also happening in the periphery of the Pacquiao show, as the AFP and MILF shot each other. A dozen were killed and a dozen more wounded even as armored vehicles rumbled though the Muslim countryside in a search and destroy operation.

Here in Cebu, having declared an all-out war against the NPA, Governor Gwen Garcia has mobilized an elite unit to go after the rebels. There are only about 30 diehards out there in the mountains, the military says. But the "iron" governor (reminiscent of Premier Golda Meir?) is not taking chances. Search 'em, destroy 'em is her battle cry.

In Cebu City, the vigilantes seemed to have taken a break as a hiatus of salvaging was observed. Having pumped lead to 165 victims, they must have been told, enough! We hope the slaughter against petty criminals is over. But what about the big-time smugglers, drug lords, and porno peddlers?

Fight! Fight! The fight syndrome is now a driving force in the Filipino psyche? The country of compassionate Christians no longer exists? Where are the Church leaders who love to perorate on love and forgiveness? This writer has been listening to Sunday homilies in the church and in broadcast media, but not one of the local priests has said anything substantial about the evil of merciless killing. Are our priests so afraid of civil authorities that they are now playing the antics of three wise monkeys? Have they thrown overboard their sworn commitment to provide moral anchorage to the people?

We do have fighting bishops, by the way. But their fight is grossly off-tangent to the gospel of religiosity they are supposed to engender. Worse, their fight has taken them across the dividing line between the church and state. Filing an impeachment charge! Ripley himself would be amused. Only in the Philippines could this have happened. And yet we hear some clerics say the bishop has every right to do so, being a Filipino citizen. He wants to uncover the truth, so what's wrong about that? Nothing, except that what he did was purely a political thing and an ordained minister has no business getting embroiled in politics.

Love your enemies, says Jesus. Do good to them that hurt you, pray for them that persecute you. Love and forgiveness - this is the gist of the entire economy of faith and salvation. Unfortunately, the truism of this is becoming only a faint echo in the minds of most Filipinos.

In place of it, the fight syndrome has taken root. What will happen to this country?

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