“Hello, Darkness, My Old Friend…”
Philippine politicians have previously been at each others’ throats;
condemning and pitching so much disfavour against their fellow peers; and the
latter’s actions. A number of them have been taking note of something wrong and
worth criticizing with regards to the others of their stature. It was only last
year when King Priam, wielding a cell phone, and the Spartan Queen Gorgo were
at it in the senate hearings; Elvis Presley and Dirty Harry with their mutual
detractions regarding power over Manila, and the publicized eye-rolling of a ‘blind-sided’
leader of the Brady Bunch upon the delivered words of the Vicar of Christ. Yet,
after the massacre of the forty-four SAF soldiers at Mamasapano, Maguindanao;
all the hellfire in Philippine politics seemed to have died down.
Is this to encourage that there should be chaos in Philippine
government; as a symbol of their identity? On the contrary, this is would be
delivered with empathy to the families of the slain warriors. If Vice-President
Binay probably made a statement more impressive than those condolence-infested
lines President Benigno Aquino III has delivered to the aggrieved, perhaps the
masses would be so inclined as to overlook the foul play he and his kin have
plagued over the city of Makati.
Secretary Mar Roxas, a strong card of the Liberalist Party, needs to
save face for the latter. He is a potential candidate for the position of
head-of-state come the 2016 elections. Instead of attending funeral services
and bearing the brunt of discriminations from mourning wives and parents; he
should get on his motorcycle once more, without a helmet-(as he did last year)
and ride out to Maguindanao as Richard the Lion Heart did with England roughly
ten centuries ago. This time, it would do well if he let the protesters see him
kick his bike’s stand before a group of Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom fighters;
and walk with savvy into the very center of their assembly; than fall down once
more.
Families and blood lines of the deceased warriors of the SAF, without
being reminded of the fact; have realized that their endeared were all in the
rank and file of the armed forces of their own volition. Without any World War,
as seventy-three years ago; men are not conscripted by the government to combat
a national threat. Soldiers in the armed forces, at present, have chosen to put
their lives on the line; and their families have accepted their decision to do
so. But this statement does not absolve the people in authority who are
responsible for producing answers and explanations for the unfortunate
incident. Even the lowliest authoritative body of the community; as in a
‘barangay’ can come up with autopsies and even fabricated details for some
common crime.
So why does the Philippine government, with its ‘board of inquiries’,
have officials shrugging their shoulders at the faces of those who are involved
in the aftermath of the recent slaughter?
Janet Bolinget-Carap, the widow of PO2 Peterson Carap, expressed her
perplexity as she wonders how her husband and his team were capable of
surviving for two months without food and water during training; only to die in
one day’s mission.* Sarcasm aside; training is not hostile because the only
opponent is one’s psychological and physical aspects. Still, if the usual PNP
officers have autopsies and submitted details of their encounters-be it
explaining their or their adversaries’ deaths; there is something to objective
to understand. And their loved ones can be certain that their husbands,
fathers, and sons did die; or kill, with honor and dignity; not simply
believing they did.
Again, what is the Philippine government doing? All of a sudden, the
nest of hornets has fallen into quietude. Nobody appears to even extend a
defence against the protestations of the masses against Benigno Aquino III.
It is probably the time to wonder if all these were part of a grand
scheme. Which one; and for what; nobody knows to date. If there existed a pithy
saying which suggests that: “one has to do a little wrong to achieve a greater
right”; the next question in this scenario would be: “And what ‘right’ is that supposed to be?”
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