Withdrawal of support

Former Philippine Army Scout Rangers commander Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim has stirred up a very interesting debate, one that has people from all walks of life arguing over what the heck "withdrawal of support" really means.

It all started when Lim caused a video of himself to be taken wherein he announced that he was "withdrawing support" from President Arroyo. Since she is also commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Arroyo is thus the boss of Lim twice over.

Depending on which side of the intellectual divide you stand, the "withdrawal of support" by Lim from Arroyo constituted either a groundbreaking act of high-profile heroism or a dirty lowdown rotten scheme of betrayal and treachery.

To be sure, it never occurred to Lim that his "withdrawal of support" would stir up any debate. As far as he was concerned, at the time he went before the camera, he was already certain of his actions. No fool wants an act documented unless he has made up his mind and sure of it.

When Lim thought the plot he was involved in was fool-proof, there was no mistaking what "withdrawal of support" meant in his heart and in his mind. That is why he wanted everything documented. He wanted proof of his heroism when it came time to divide the spoils.

But whatever plot Lim was deeply involved in did not materialize. At least not at the time he and his co-plotters expected it to roll into place. And so what seemed pretty certain has disintegrated into something Lim now frantically wants subjected to many interpretations.

Lim, as it turned out, was prepared to deal with success but is not man enough to suffer the consequences of failed action. He now seeks refuge in semantics, hoping verbal calisthenics can obscure the real nature of his "withdrawal of support."

Only a moment ago, Lim professed to be so enamoured with the Filipino people he was willing to risk kicking his boss from behind if only to lead them to salvation. Now he thinks of them as so stupid they could not see he is just another opportunist whose cover got blown.

When Lim "withdrew support" from Arroyo, he was in fact rebelling against her. There is no ambiguity about that. Only Lim and like-minded people would interpret it another way, and only now when things did not turn out as they expected.

Had things turned out as expected, Lim would now be traipsing all over the archipelago, cutting ribbons at every opening of junta-sponsored film showings of his historic "rebellion" against his president and his commander-in-chief.

There is no way you can sanitize a rebellion. It is either you rebelled or you did not. But Lim wants to have his cake and eat it too. Caught with his pants down, he still wants to deliver a lecture on gravity.

The only way for Lim to have "withdrawn support" from Arroyo without committing a crime was if he had resigned from the military first. Then he could have "withdrawn support" from anyone, including the hobgoblins that torment his sleep for all that the Filipinos care.

But to "withdraw support" from Arroyo as an act of rebellion for which he expected to be rewarded as a hero if the plot worked, and then try to explain it away as a mere "expression of opinion" if the plot failed is to insultingly demean our intelligence.

Who can believe Lim now? He has repeatedly been switching sides in this country's turbulent political history. It is very difficult to take the word of a guy like that at face value. Even his own video appearance has become evidence to the contrary.