Respect

MANILA, Philippines - I facepalmed when I heard Senator Frank Drilon over Ted Failon’s radio program relating the current brouhaha on Pres. Gloria Arroyo’s midnight appointments to that which transpired during the time of nationalist President Carlos P. Garcia. What was even more stupefying for me was when he quipped “Binaboy ni Garcia ang Malacañang.” “Binaboy” is a Tagalog slang which refers to an act of deconsecrating someone or something. “Binaboy” always involves immorality on the part of the person committing it. I almost fell off my chair hearing these words from a senior senator.

There are three points that I want to convey to the honorable senator.

Firstly, It would be good for the senior senator who happens to be also a former Justice Secretary to review the decision of the Supreme Court on the case of Aytona vs. Castillo, et. al., G.R. Case No. L-19313 dated January 19, 1962. This case dealt with the midnight appointments done during the time of Garcia. The Supreme Court in its en banc resolution made it clear that Garcia’s appointment was perfectly legal and was done in good faith.

Secondly, it appears to me that the senior senator is quiet ignorant of the historical and political-economic context of why Garcia did such midnight appointments. In particular, the appointment by Carlos Garcia of Dominador Aytona as Central Bank Governor was done to protect our incipient industrialization and to perpetuate the Filipino First Policy. Incidentally, regardless of Garcia’s appointment of a nationalist Central Bank Governor, the Filipino First Policy was reversed by Diosdado Macapagal. As most of us probably know, Garcia’s short-lived Filipino First Policy aimed to develop our own agro-industrial complex to be more competitive to what we now call “globalization”. The appointment done by Garcia was prompted by love of country. It’s a pity for Drilon to compare it with Arroyo’s midnight appointments.

Lastly, even if the senior senator has a dissenting opinion on the events that transpired during Garcia’s time, Drilon could have at least spoken respectfully of the former President who would have his 39th death anniversary tomorrow (June 14). If he did so, then at least he became true to his words of advice to his parliamentary debating students to avoid using derogatory remarks even in dissent.  

In my humble opinion, young people like me would do more service to our country by reviving the nationalistic spirit of Carlos P. Garcia and his patriotic contemporaries rather than by emulating the words and deeds of our present crop of politicians.­