When exceptions are the rule

Radio listeners got jolted upon hearing the “confession” of a lawmaker for receiving an early “Christmas gift” of P200T at the Palace breakfast meeting. Perhaps realizing the vulnerability of his unexpected tattling, he turned the tables on his interviewer for picking on him for a detailed scenario. “Ayaw na lang ko’g lalisa basta mao na”, said the miffed solon.

Other Cebu lawmakers and many other House solons interviewed on TV and other media outlets, have not owned as recipients of an early Christmas largesse from Malacañan during that Thursday shindig. That now seems to be the rule based on general denial; whereas, that “confession” of one of our own and a smattering few “truthful” solons and a couple of “cornered” governors, are the exceptions.

While in politics and most other human endeavors the factor of credibility, or perception, or persuasiveness, may be a numbers game, strong exceptions have a way of over-riding the rule at times. At any rate, as to which version is true, the people have already weighed and decided.

Meantime, of relevance is the perception that when political push comes to shove, the Palace almost always gets rattled intensely to the extent of resorting to spin moves or hasty strategies that boomerang eventually. The P200T to P500T “payola” to preempt another futile impeachment threat is just an example…

Forget past tremors that rocked the roost, say, the failed impeachments, the Jose Pidal caper, PP 464 and other executive issuances, the Gonzales and Bolante rigmaroles, etc. The most recent rocker is that still unsettled ZTE/NBN telecom scam that, among other aftershocks, is cracking the political “loveteam” of President GMA and Speaker Jose DV.

This came to a head when then anti-admin critic Atty. Ruel Pulido purportedly preempted other round of impeachment attempts against GMA by filing his own allegedly weak impeachment complaint. This has been perceived by proven anti-GMA critics as a ploy to bail out preemptively GMA, and to sow intrigues between the latter and JDV.

And so, relying on media reports and political pundits’ opinions, that Thursday breakfast at Malacañan was sort of a loyalty check among congressmen, and to shore up the barricades against possible disloyalty by dispensing some “envelopmental” ammo, so contends JDV’s son Joey.

With the “confessions” of a few left with no choice but to spill the beans, vis-à-vis the barefaced denials of most, the truth isn’t any longer an issue as far as public perception or credulity is concerned. In fiction writing, what is of moment is the element of verisimilitude.

What appears discordant or disturbing was the absence of finesse, or refinement and subtlety in the dole-out. Absent the secretiveness, or any modicum of fear from discovery, or any attempt at caution, if true, smacks of utter blatancy and brazenness, what with the cold stats that the 70% or so poor nationwide are in hunger, and many in ill-health, malnourished, clad in tatters, and ill-housed.

Gleaming from world history, the stonehearted insult of Marie Antoinette when informed that the poor hungry French peasants lacked bread to eat, she muttered to give them cakes instead, sadly rings a sadistic bell.

In fairness though to the forced candidness of the recipients of the dole-out as early Christmas gift, their innate honesty had at least surfaced. But, taking back their words of “confession” later as a mere joke, to cite one, sadly lacks verisimilitude as anti-climactic spin job.

Indeed, events have a way of making certain exceptions to the rule with such transcendent impact as to over-rule the general rule.