Written on 2:31 PM by isko b. doo
Seeming calm
Passed over
The half-closed lids
Of dreamers.
Spread-eagled,
Naked to the warm earth,
The sun singed
All resolve and
Struggles,
They lay content.
The wind carried
Their laughter and screams,
Buffered by the waves’ own,
To ocean depths,
To the memories of past oceans,
To the stories of past generations,
To the laughter and tears
Of mothers, brothers, grandfathers,
Farmers, seafarers, gulls,
Herons, and seabirds,
To the laughter and tears
Of would-be dreamers.
Written on 8:42 PM by isko b. doo
Administration congressmen made good on their promise to bury any attempts to unseat President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo with yesterday’s approval of the committee on justice report by 36 votes to 0 junking the impeachment complaint for insufficiency in substance.
The approval came as no surprise since days before, the President’s allies have trumpeted the bungled attempts of the opposition to come up with the necessary number of signatures to send the complaint to Senate. Majority Floor Leader Prospero Nograles even virtually assured the death of the impeachment bid so the House could turn its attention to the issue of Charter change.
The zero votes do not necessarily mean that the approval came with no resistance. It was, in fact, the upshot of the protest action of the minority members when they refused to participate in the voting after accusing the majority of railroading the approval of the report.
Deputy Minority Floor Leader Roilo Golez claimed said the President’s allies bulldozed the impeachment complaint by approving in principle the report on a motion by committee vice chair Eastern Samar Representative Marcelino Libanan.
The approval snubbed their earlier agreement to deliberate on the report “page by page” which would have given the chance for opposition members to introduce some amendments.
Among the violations cited by the opposition were: the failure of the body to provide each member with a copy of the report three days before the meeting and the approval of the report in principle even without the copy of the report itself.
If the allegations are true, the opposition could file a protest using the legal channels requesting to junk the report on technicality but who would listen? The President has the numbers and democracy, after all, is nothing but the tyranny of the majority.
Of course, we don’t expect the issue to be buried along with the report. In the next few days, we expect to see opposition members to bring the matter in the court of public opinion. We expect them to make noise over how the administration officials bullied their way into stifling dissent.
In like manner, we also anticipate seeing administration officials being magnanimous in victory by offering the hand of reconciliation to the opposition. We expect Malacañang to ask the public to move on towards better things like changing the Constitution and the realization of its “super regions.”
What we don’t presume to get, however, are answers. The President, despite promising to answer questions on the controversy once the excitement dies down after her “I’m Sorry” speech, chose to remain silent. The second impeachment bid is dead and the public is as confused as ever.
If administration congressmen feel that they are doing the President and the public a favor by killing the complaint, they are sadly mistaken. Unfortunately for us all, the country could not get past this issue. It could not move forward, not by a long shot.
Written on 9:43 PM by isko b. doo
“The Roots of Violence: Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity, Worship without sacrifice, Politics without principles,” -- Mahatma Gandhi
Saw on TV our so-called president wearing the famous yellow shirt with the mug of Ninoy Aquino on the front during the commemoration of his death anniversary and I almost gagged.
How dare she gatecrash a memory – no, a symbol of idealism, freedom, and human rights -- which she successfully debased in her short term. Critics even placed her above Marcos in her wanton disregard of human lives as in the case of killings of activists and journalists done in broad daylight. How dare she invoke what Ninoy stood for!
Cory, knowing that the commemoration was meant to be a grand show for good PR was a, well, no show.
During the ceremony, Gloria named former Supreme Court associate justice Jose Melo to head the new commission supposedly to probe the almost daily killings, which she condemned in the “strongest terms,” while she called on the public for support. The commission was created a few days after Gloria gave Task Force Usig an ultimatum to solve 10 cases in 10 weeks.
Earlier, Gloria called on the witnesses to come out and pinpoint the killers; as if it’s the fault of the witnesses why not a single suspect has been jailed. Now, we know where (in)Justice Sec. Raul Gonzales got his astute talent of concocting ready-made excuses for ineptitude. His boss just showed it right there.
Besides, the government has not shown in the past its interest in protecting whistleblowers. There was Gen. Francisco Gudani, along with his officer Col. Alexander Balutan, who was court martialed for testifying before the Senate on what they knew about election rigging involving the president’s husband.
Then there’s EO 464 which prohibits executive officials from testifying before Senate with Malacanang’s say-so; the CPR to prevent protesters from massing up; the overthrow of the impeachment bid even before the evidence could be examined – all pointing to the actions of the guilty person.
Of course, I was no longer surprised seeing Gloria there. She must have really thought that it’s her duty to be present during the commemoration. If she praised Gen. Jovito Palparan for his “heroic” efforts in fighting the enemy yesterday like what she did in her state of the nation address, I would also expect it. Her capacity to lie to herself is boundless.
Gloria already usurped the presidency, and yesterday she took over a widow’s memory, too. No, Gloria does not surprise me anymore. It’s us I’m disappointed with. How far could we go allowing somebody rape our morals, prostitute our minds, and assault our senses with her fake smiles?
Gloria’s greatest crime is not stealing the presidency (not once, but twice!); her greatest sin is murdering the Filipino’s hope.
Ninoy need not worry whether or not the Filipino is worth dying for:
We are already dead.
