Patsy and Helen Songs for Rep. Arnie

It has been a long time that I have not played the long playing (LP) records of some female vocalists of the 1960’s through 1980’s. So, last Friday afternoon, I decided to pick a few LPs of Patsy Cline, Doris Day, Eydie Gorme, Connie Francis, and Helen Reddy. Patsy died an accomplished singer in 1963 and Helen started her singing career sometime in 1966. To me, the most popular song of Patsy Cline was “Crazy”. The first lyrical line of that song is “Crazy, I'm crazy for feeling so lonely”. On the other hand, “You and Me Against the World”, among Helen Reddy’s greatest songs, has this line: “When all the others turn their backs and walk away” to reflect on.

How off-tangent can this column be if from my opening statement on female vocalists I shift to Negros Oriental 3rd district Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr., a personality who has seized the attention of most of our countrymen? If only these Patsy Cline and Helen Reddy songs are not about the kind of love we prefer to talk about in our daily lives, they would perfectly fit the present unenviable socio-political life of the congressman.

On the very morning of the murder of Governor Roel Degamo, tension gripped even more the entire province as news wildly spread of a possible mastermind. No names were immediately mentioned though but fear reigned just the same. Only innuendos about a high-profile and powerful politician in the province as probable suspect. In fact, within the hour of the killing of the governor, I received a call from a former official of Pamplona, Negros Oriental. Yes, Degamo was killed in Pamplona. Politics was my caller’s angle of the brutal crime and even in his civilian status, this friend of mine expressed terrible fear more than just casual apprehension of the situation in their municipality. He told me of his town’s bloody politics such that he planned to leave his place where he has extensive business ventures and move to another locality which he believed to be more safe and peaceful!

The news that followed the call from my Pamplona friend began to describe the dastardly act in gruesome detail. Soon the men in almost all sources of news information started to scream “massacre”. High government officials descended upon Negros Oriental. They promised that government would make sure justice be served to everyone. With such clout spread by highest authorities, the initial whispers of who perpetuated the crime gave way to the pronounced name of a suspect. All hell broke loose with Rep. Teves on the spot. Sadly, he was in a foreign land. In his home province, soldiers established check points in search of supposed henchmen of the solon. Police searched the lawmaker’s known abodes. Business partners, intimidated by social pressures chose to cut links and stayed away. Government buddies and political allies became inaccessible to him. According to singer Helen Reddy “all others turned their backs (on Arnie) and walked away”.

Last week also, Rep. Teves, found an unexpected relief. One of the cases filed against him for alleged possession of illegal firearms, was dismissed on technical grounds. The broad constitutional basis on which the dismissal was anchored partly deflected the increasing assault on the integrity of the Negros Oriental lawmaker. While the order didn’t make him a saint, it should somehow stall the spiraling condemnation of the congressman. After all, there are legal parameters to be observed to protect all citizens of this country including him, from quick crucifixion. The lawmaker may truly feel crazy in his lonesome as sung by Patsy Cline or badly deserted by friends, (vocalized by Helen Reddy) he, if indeed rightfully innocent of unjust charges, can seek solace in our written law.

This article, composed in extreme caution in order not to be misunderstood, reminds us not just of the frailty of human relations of the kind Teves has experienced but of the need for wielders of authority to bow to the rigidity of ideal law. Fiat justitia ruat cælum.