A cockcroach could not coo like a dove.

Whether it is by Divine Providence or not, the ZTE scandal has united the attention of the whole country to the real danger our nation and people are facing.

In Benjie Oliveros' ANALYSIS BulatlatVol VII, No. 2, February 10-16, 2008, Mr. Oliveros wrote that :

Impunity, if left unchecked, would usher in a full-blown dictatorship. With the way the Macapagal-Arroyo administration is running the government, it would have no qualms about declaring Martial Law. Its greed for power and wealth fears no institution; and it would lie, cheat, bribe, harass, abduct, maim, and kill to keep itself in power. ”

and concluded that:

It is only the Filipino people who can effectively check the Arroyo government’s impunity and prevent it from declaring Martial Law. It is only the collective action of the Filipino people that can get rid of a rotten government and usher in change.

In Fil-Soldier@yahoogroups.com, Josie Acedillo followed through by saying that :

The way the Macapagal-Arroyo administration disposed of an ally former House Speaker Jose De Venecia, and kidnapped a government official Rodolfo Jun Lozada reek of impunity. And impunity, if left unchecked, would usher in a full-blown dictatorship.

I agree with Josie Acedillo with her conclusion that unbridled impunity begets dictatorship, and I concur with Mr. Oliveros' analysis that the real key to our national redemption are- THE FILIPINO PEOPLE themselves. The decision to end this travesty of all that is good about us does not depend on who CAN or who WILL lead us. We, the people, are the beginning and the end of all we have now on our hands. It is precisely because of this that our hope to end this continuing darkness is real and its realization forthcoming.

From what we had done with Cory Aquino, Fidel Ramos to Joseph Estrada and now GMA, we could see that our leaders are only as strong and as weak as we take ourselves to be. All we have to do is look at those little glorious days. When we stopped being afraid to die for what we live for, Cory became our president. Ramos came out with his best and turned a cut above the rest because we decided to trust him. Erap’s rule was short-lived and ignominious because we got fed up with his immoral governance and ignominiously kicked him out from office. GMA stayed a bit longer among them because most of us decided to simply MOVE ON and gloss over the shenanigans of her governance, putting much premium on hope even before we could do all what we could. Unfortunately for all, she failed to learn from her opportunities. Now her time has come. From what she has been doing, notwithstanding the nation-wide disapproval along their wake, the only thing left more brazen than the ZTE scandal is her declaration of Martial Law. This is truly a possibility in the light of the moral callousness underlying the ZTE scandal. As there is no master without a slave, it is up to everyone of us what we want TO BE in the days to come.

But I would like to take exception from Mr. Oliveros’s take on Jose De Venecia and I quote pertinently:

But every act has its consequences. The Arroyo government has turned Joe De Venecia from a “trapo,” which the people do not trust, to a martyr in the fight against corruption. Whether De Venecia would take advantage of this to leave a legacy by exposing what he knows or hasten his political demise by keeping his mouth shut and be the whipping boy of the administration is entirely up to him.” (emphasis supplied)

To elevate De Venecia as a possible martyr of good governance because he became the latest victim of the PESTILENCE raging in our midst is simply being too charitable to a fault and specious, to say the least. Whether by fortune, design or ill fate, this man could never be a martyr after he had SQUANDERED for himself, the opportunity after opportunity to be great for La Patria, Los Indios Bravos y Dios. JDV was there with FM, FVR and lately with GMA. But in all those opportunities, JDV, who was supposed to have the CHARACTER of a martyr, a worth emulating by our people, was non-appearance for all that matters outside his petty self!

To expect that JDV could be a martyr NOW for good governance is no different from hoping a cockcroach to coo like a dove albeit it is truly up to JDV whether or not he would do the right thing. JDV should not expect any reward on doing what is right beyond the comfort of having done what is right. To allude that he is entitled from the public something more than that ala Chavit Singson is like telling our children that it is okay for them to BETRAY THEIR COUNTRY AT ANYTIME because luck, design or ill-fate might be kind enough later on to give them a chance to make amends.

Any way, we do not need JDV or his MARTYRDOOM to end this pestilence in the country! We have more than enough with what we have to bring this administration to justice, for our people and country.

Related articles:

On Jun Lozada, Heroes & Cloning
Time to GO!
Chronology of Events on Lozada's LSGH Sanctuary
My Dad's a Rich Fatso - Luli Arroyo
The Genesis of the ZTE-LOZADA Epic Saga
Investigating state witness Lozada
Greed & Corruption is like a jar of Jalapeños
The Contuining Saga of the Probinsyanong Intsik Against the Establishment What is Neri afraid to say and Why?
The Saga of Jun Lozada Continues...
Transcript of Lozada's Exposé
The Saga of Jun Lozada

Photo courtesy:

Arkibong Bayan

Subscribe in a reader
Click on the images to receive your free email updates

Philippine Politics