Some senators have been reluctant in taking steps to look into the latest caper of their colleague, Sen. Antonio Trillanes, and instead took turns condemning the police for arresting several journalists who covered the event. We can understand this since they badly want to score the much-needed pogi points in their efforts to spruce up their political image for the next big event in 2010.
Take the case of Senate President Manny Villar and Sen. Mar Roxas - the leaders of the country's oldest two political parties who both vie for the top post in the land - who seem not to bother to comprehend the fact that Trillanes committed a far more graver offense in taking another shot at toppling the Arroyo regime.
Villar, the head of the Nationalista Party, blatantly condemned the acts of the police in hauling the journalists to Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City. He found such acts worth investigating into as they tend to curtail the freedom of the press.
In his recent visit to Cebu, Roxas, who is still basking in the limelight following his election to head the Liberal Party for the next presidential derby, is calling for an immediate investigation into what he termed as high-handed treatment by the police of the journalists covering the Manila Peninsula standoff. He said the arrest of the mediamen and the imposition of a curfew infringe on the basic human rights of citizens, and make a mockery of our democracy.
We don't want to say that the two good senators opted to turn a blind eye on Trillanes' latest brush with the law. But we are certain their pronouncements on media suppression were hatched on the idea that they need to project a “cute” image for the sake of their political ambitions.
Trillanes had been catapulted to the Senate from the Navy by virtue of the 11 million souls who voted for him in the May elections. Condemning him for his another attempt to oust the President would be a political suicide for Villar and Roxas, as Trillanes' supporters will certainly not vote for them in 2010.
But by seemingly tolerating Trillanes' acts, Villar and Roxas have simply shown their true feathers. They are not different from those traditional politicians whose existence merely revolves around their personal interests.