Our greatest tragedy is not dirty politics, or the fact that some 7,800 have already been killed in the war on drugs, and that crime and corruption seem far from being eradicated.
What is tragic is that we have sunk so low, morally.
Is it the fault of the Catholic church that the nation’s values have sunk so low? Do we now regard morality as passe? Have we been desensitized by mass communications and Hollywood?
Killings have become the new normal. People are no longer alarmed that too many are losing their lives in the bloody war against drugs.
If we are to believe in President Duterte’s list of narco-politicians, then we would think the Philippines is no longer a staunch Catholic country.
We exalt those who openly flaunt the values we Filipinos hold dear. Many of our officials have live-in partners and common-law wives. We ignore that fact that these elected officials live below the usual Filipino standards.
When I was a boy in Abra, before the Japanese occupation, priests, teachers and judges were the most respected members of the community.
Now we admire officials who also engage in gambling, drug trading, and smuggling. This is because they have the money to spread around. Political patronage is the name of the game.
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Santa Banana, take the case of erstwhile best friends Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez of Davao del Norte’s first district, and Antonio “Tonyboy” Floirendo Jr. of the 2nd district. They are now in conflict because Alvarez is going after the latter’s Tadeco banana plantation. The company has a lease contract with the Bureau of Corrections. Inmates of the Davao penal colony act as workers.
In fact, the Speaker has filed graft charges against Rep. Floirendo and another resolution to investigate the Tadeco-BuCor lease contract for allegedly being grossly disadvantageous to the government. There is also a conflict of interest case against Floirendo.
Reports have it that the two Davao representatives’ quarrel arose from their girlfriends’ quarrel. Neither has denied this. The Speaker is very much married while Floirendo is estranged from his Miss Universe wife.
It is also said that President Duterte has tried to pacify the Speaker and Rep. Floirendo to no avail, since the girlfriends of the two are involved.
Has the House of Representatives sunk so low? First it has become a House of Bullies when it punished those who voted against the death penalty. Now, girlfriends’ quarrels dictate the pace of legislation and congressional investigations!
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I can only sympathize with Palace Spokesman Ernesto Abella when he tries to get his boss, the President, out of a tight spot. Now he says Mr. Duterte’s words should not be taken literally. They should instead be taken in context.
When the European Union criticized the Duterte administration and raised concerns over thousands of Filipinos killed in President Duterte’s war on illegal drugs and violation of human rights, President Duterte answered back that the drug war was an internal affair and that foreigners had no business interfering with these things.
The President then claimed that the EU had proposed a health-based solution that involved dispensing shabu, cocaine and heroin. He likewise slammed their concern over the Death Penalty Law.
Not content with this, Mr. Duterte said: “I will be happy to hang you. If I had any preference, I’d hang all of you!”
The President’s remarks were taken literally so much so that the EU summoned the Philippine envoy based in Brussels and The Hague to explain Duterte’s unacceptable comments.
To make matters worse, in Manila, EU Ambassador Franz Jessen decried the social media post of an assistant secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development who suggested that those from the EU should just engage in online child pornography because that is what they are good at.
Despite these, Abella claims that the President’s remarks should not be taken literally. But these were all said in plain English! Abella and company blame the press for not using creative imagination in interpreting the President’s words.
If Mr. Duterte does not want to get into trouble, he should just be careful with his language.
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Vice President Leni Robredo cannot lead the opposition. She does not seem to know where she belongs. For example, she sought to be a member of the Cabinet—until she was ousted.
Robredo is inconsistent in her positions. When she appears in public, she sports that sweet smile. It really seems she is neither here nor there. Does she really think we believe that she is that nice girl from Naga City who somehow found herself swept into the vice presidency? People know that the Liberal Party cheated for her, hence her victory over former Senator Bongbong Marcos.
Now Robredo says she is accepting President Duterte’s dinner invitation.Can even the Yellowtards still trust her?