Reiteration

Today we are commemorating Human Rights Day without Nelson Mandela. We will have to learn to live in a world without this colossal figure, this compelling personality.

If there was indeed such a thing as a civil religion, Mandela would be its preeminent saint. By his word and by his deed, Mandela was eloquence made flesh: a tireless advocate for a just society, a courageous fighter for his people and, finally a statesman of incomparable caliber who led his nation from chaos to progress in the short span of a generation.

When he was alive and nimble, Mandela was constantly smiling, constantly dancing. The past few days, his people are found dancing in the streets — to celebrate the fact he once lived among them. They dance even as they mourn the passing of the true father of their nation.

They are fortunate to have lived in a world inhabited by Mandela. They know that only too well. That is why there is dancing in the streets all over South Africa.

In a world where everyday politics dumb down the people rather than edify them, Mandela as a political leader stands like a great cathedral amidst a ruined city.

He was a leader who never had to resort to intellectual dishonesty nor to glibness nor to the banal. He respected his people as much as he trusted them. He led by inspiring his nation, not by peddling hatred or sowing confusion.

He did not have to pull stunts to grab media attention. Because he always said important things, the media gave him its full attention whenever he spoke.

Mandela was so large, so evocative a presence that he cast a shadow way beyond his own nation. He was a hero to all who understood the essentials of humanity and the basics of civility.

On Sunday, Mandela will be buried. The event is expected to be the largest state funeral ever. Dignitaries from all over the world, leaders in their own right, will be present to pay their respects to a man who deserves it but will never admit he does.

Our President does not plan to be there, in this historic gathering of grace and greatness. The dimensions of this event very likely escapes him and the Palace, as usual, will come up with another petty excuse for not doing what statesmanship dictates.

At any rate, our domestic politics is simply too dumb, too small-minded to merit a place in what should be a historic watershed: a reiteration of what Mandela stood for and what the rest of humanity abides by.

This is not just a funeral. It is a feast for all that is good in civilization as we know it.

We are not just burying a man who lived greatness with such ease. We are paying tribute to a set of ideals that will make society a tolerable proposition.

This gathering of global leaders will be so pronounced that it will reverberate in every ghetto, in every shanty of the dispossessed and in the hearts of all who remain excluded in societies where apartheid remains alive in more subtle forms.

This is how the world reconciles with the passing of a truly great man. We recollect, we jointly remember, we collectively affirm the basis for such greatness.

It is an exercise in edification.

When all the world’s legitimate leaders bother to gather, it is not just to honor a hero. It is to remind the young how important some things are to all of us.

Recovery

More than Eastern Visayas, it is the Aquino administration that seems to be earnestly on recovery mode. Every action, every utterance coming from the Palace seems intended entirely for purposes of recovering lost popularity and squandered public trust.

Something must be distressing the Aquino presidency, animating this scramble to recover public support. Some say an internal Palace survey that measured a great sea change in public opinion relative to the administration animates this dramatic shift to recovery mode.

The first visible change was the alteration of the President’s communications team. The usual duo of Lacierda and Valte, who brazenly improvised under the glare of television cameras, has become scarce. The two have been replaced by the steadier Sonny Coloma.

In his last column for this paper before he passed away, Billy Esposo lambasted Ricky Carandang for incompetence. Since then, Carandang transformed into an invisible man. He was lately reported to be hunting for a job in the private sector.

It is now widely expected that Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, widely criticized for ineffectiveness after the typhoon struck, will step down by yearend. His retirement is well deserved.

DILG Secretary Mar Roxas, criticized as the worst calamity to hit Leyte after Yolanda, just lost his once tight grip on the President’s 2016 endorsement. The President said so himself last week in a rare appearance before media women. Recall that in 1992, Ramon Mitra seemed so sure of Cory Aquino’s support — until she anointed outsider Fidel Ramos at the last minute.

Drilon protégé Rene Villa, tarred by his links to Janet Napoles (most likely through his patron), was probably asked to go. So was Ruffy Biazon, erstwhile Commissioner of Customs, after he was named among those misusing their pork.

When it was announced that prices of electricity would spike this month, the Energy Regulatory Commission came under intense political pressure. Yesterday, it was announced that the power price increase would be staggered (even if this might mean more expensive power in actuality to cover earnings shortfalls in the initial stages).

An administration scrambling to recover lost popularity will drop political baggage frantically, like a boat starting to take in water.