A titanic storm shaking the ship of state
Many sectors are demanding for the resignation of the President: both from the extreme right, the more radical sectors in the church led by some bishops, and also from the disgruntled ranks of the military; and from the extreme left led by militant unions, agitated teachers, and students, peasants and urban poor alliances, and the Makabayan Bloc in the House. But the unkindest cut of them all is the call for resignation by Peping Cojuangco, the President's own uncle, and his famous wife, Tingting. Danding seems to be silent on the surface but the rumor mills are full of tremors that something very turbulent might happen in the next few weeks.
I am afraid that we are about to reach the tipping point, and we may be hit by the perfect storm, a political tsunami of devastating proportions, when there shall be a convergence between the self-righteous rightists and the rebellious leftists. The Mamasapano is being used by the psywar propagandists to push the nation into the brink of a revolutionary situation, not unlike the advent of EDSA One in the early weeks of 1986. It is a pity because we do not have a very bad President. There were many worse before him, and may be even be more divisive after him. The best option is to wait for the 2016 elections. A Presidential resignation is a very dangerous alternative.
To resign amidst a heavy storm may prove to be more disastrous, because we do not have a ready replacement who is both competent and with integrity. The vice president has been effectively demonized by the ruling party. He has practically lost his credibility and may not be able to gather enough support to form a working government. On the other hand, a military junta is a worse alternative. The military may bring us again to a Martial Law dictatorship. Even worse is one sponsored either by the communists or one who shall act as puppet to the taipans and the CIA. So, we are stuck with the incumbent who is much ''wounded'' politically with much battered credibility.
When the Ship of the State is being shaken by a tropical cyclone, like this one hitting us, it is not good for the Master of the vessel to abandon ship. He should stand firm and be in complete control. He should gather his closest and most trusted advisers, his inner circle and come up with an effective coping plan. He should not react to every wave with a knee-jerk impulsiveness. He should exercise extra-ordinary diligence in making sure that he does not unwittingly rock the boat, with off the cap comments and reckless quips. He should take full responsibility and should not pass the buck to some underlings. The buck should stop where he is.
It is not easy to be the President of 100 million Filipinos, one fourth of which are living with only a dollar a day, jobless, homeless, hopeless, hungry, and angry. It is not easy to govern a nation where 80% of the wealth is controlled only by twenty-five families of taipans, tycoons, magnates, and barons. Thus, when, like today, the captain of our nation's vessel is beleaguered, he needs our help, not our condemnation. We are all in this boat. In case of capsize, we either sink together or swim together.
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