A ‘weather-weather’ country

Like the climate, this country is full of characters and situations that could change overnight. Take for instance the decision of Tessie Aquino-Oreta and Vicente "Tito" Sotto to jump over to the Nationalist People’s Coalition. Not that this is surprising, since it’s virtually open season now that the election period has started, so we can expect more of this merry-go-round. While the two LDP-turned-NPC politicians claim differences with Sen. Ed Angara’s stance on Charter Change, there are talks that the real reason for the "transfer" had to do with the fact that they were not among the top picks for the opposition senatorial lineup. Tessie was dropped in favor of her nephew, Congressman Noynoy Aquino. As for Sotto, it is said he is disgruntled with the presence of ex-Estrada critics and opponents in the opposition. Hence, the move to NPC – which has ties both with the administration and the United Opposition or UNO – was calculated to give the two added leverage for the senatorial slate.

Rumors are also floating that the two might be included in the administration’s lineup under a so-called "unity ticket" being cooked up by some Palace bright boys. As the saying goes, the only constant thing in this world is change. Even US president George Bush is changing his tune on climate change and global warming, plus there’s a perceived softening in his hard line stance regarding the war on Iraq. Which is really understandable considering that, faced with a hostile, Democrat-filled Congress and Senate, Bush has to go on survival mode to cope with the change in the American political landscape. While Democrats aren’t buying, there hasn’t been mudslinging, and overtures of bipartisanship have not been turned down outright.

In this country, however, politics is nastier and more vicious. Political intrigues have become part and parcel of Filipino life, so much so that a day will not be complete without a new gossip or rumor surfacing, manufactured and unfounded most of the time. It’s also quite ironic that in a Christian country like the Philippines, people have mastered the art of betrayal started by Judas Iscariot 2,000 years ago when he sold out on Jesus Christ for a few pieces of silver. During the Philippine revolution against the Spaniards in 1896, the first well-known Filipino betrayal happened to Katipunan founder Andres Bonifacio during the Tejeros convention when the Magdiwang faction, whom Bonifacio thought were his allies, elected Emilio Aguinaldo as president of the revolutionary government. The Katipunan Supremo was relegated to the lowly position of director of the interior, which was even contested on the ground that he was not a lawyer. Enraged and humiliated, Bonifacio refused to recognize the election results – for which he would later be tried and executed for treason upon the orders of Aguinaldo. Betrayals like this are more likely spawned by the Filipino crab mentality, where people try to pull down others who are on their way up. Do you still wonder why the present democratic system has slowed down our political maturity? The answer clearly lies in our penchant to bring fellow Filipinos down hoping it will pull us up. But in reality, it will only bring the whole country down.

This whole political rigodon is probably why we should consider changing the present setup to the proposed unicameral, parliamentary government with a strong two-party system. That would prevent political butterflies from flitting from one fence to another in the interest of expediency or political survival. After all these years, politics in this country is still personality-oriented, not issues oriented. Like the merry-go-round that’s happening now, people don’t really know the real "puno’t dulo" about issues that could change their lives for the better or for the worse.

In spite of all these things, however, the one bright spot are our young brave soldiers who continue to risk life and limb to protect this country. We should all be grateful to Second Lt. Romulo Dimayuga and the other young soldiers who killed Khadaffy Janjalani and Abu Solaiman. These soldiers deserve our respect, and it’s but fitting to honor them with the Medal of Valor and give them on the spot promotions. There is no question the Abu Sayyaf problem has long been a curse to this country, especially in 2001 when they kidnapped several foreigners including American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham. We became known as a "terrorist haven," our reputation before the international community was in tatters, and one could not even begin to quantify the billions of dollars this country lost from potential investments and tourism revenues because of these terrorist bandits masquerading as idealists.

Congress and Senate should go out of their way to protect our soldiers. With the momentum clearly in favor of the military, the long overdue Anti-Terrorism Bill should be passed to finally put these terrorists out of action. The feat of Dimayuga and his fellow soldiers have brought back faith to the Armed Forces of the Philippines. There’s a renewed feeling of respect for the military not only by Filipinos but even by Americans and the rest of the world. Despite their measly pay – they get a combat pay of P240 a month, P120 a month as hazard pay, and P60 meal allowance per day – these soldiers continue to sacrifice for this country. Legislators should make every effort to increase the benefits of the men and women in the military, especially the young frontliners – or bulldozers as they are called – who conduct field operations in areas considered as hotbeds of insurgency and terrorism. The youth is the hope of this nation, and they hold the future of this country in their hands. We can only hope that they will step up to the plate and rebuild this nation, motivated by genuine love for this country.

Meantime, as the election period reaches fever pitch, expect to see the same old faces going from one side of the fence to the other. The same people who toppled Erap Estrada will be hobnobbing with the opposition, while those who used to denounce GMA will soon be singing and dancing before crowds as administration bets. That’s Philippine politics for you – like the weather, it changes rapidly. Who knows, perhaps First Gentleman Mike Arroyo and Congressman Allan Peter Cayetano may even find themselves on the same side of the political fence in the not-so-distant future. After all, former president Erap Estrada may have just been right all along when he would always say, "weather-weather lang yan."

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