EDITORIAL - Day of hope

Good news came on Maundy Thursday, when most local media organizations were on a rare holiday. After several months and a change of administration, Jeffrey Craig Edwards Schilling was recovered by government troops from the Islamic extre-mists who had been keeping him captive since August in the hinterlands of Sulu. Enervated by the blistering heat, 100 pounds lighter, Schilling will undergo debriefing before he regains full freedom. His severed head was supposed to be presented by the Abu Sayyaf to President Arroyo on her 54th birthday over a week ago. He was spared after his mother Carol flew in from Oakland, California and pleaded for his life. There are still debates on whether Schilling, who is married to a Filipina related to an Abu Sayyaf bandit, was in fact abetting the group’s activities. But he seemed happy to be out of the jungles of Sulu, and his rescuers deserve commendation.

That’s one bit of good news for the Holy Week break. It gives the nation a shot of optimism this Easter Sunday weekend, when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ, ending a week of introspection and renewal. In recent days global market forces have pulled down the peso and stock market. A blackout and a consequent water shortage in some parts of Metro Manila aggravated the summer heat. The murders of publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and his driver Manuel Corbito, confirmed to their families by independent forensic experts, left many questions unanswered.

When business resumes tomorrow, unraveling the mystery of Dacer’s murder will compete for attention with the elections and the forthcoming trial of a deposed president. On this day of rebirth we can look back to the tumultuous events that unfolded in recent months. Were lessons learned? What flaws in the system need correction? How deep is our resolve to implement reforms? Are we ready to do our share for a better Phi-lippines?

Even as we move to correct the mistakes of the past, we can’t help thinking that we’ve been through this before, that we keep tripping on the same spot over and over again. Can we change for good? We look for encouraging signs that this time it will be different, that initiatives for reforms will go beyond rhetoric. Easter is also a day of hope.