Maybe God does work in mysterious ways. Look at how He dealt with the credibility problem of the Comelec. He solved it with the help of a non-believing country like China. By inserting the Chinese firm ZTE into our system, we ended up expurgating the Comelec chairman, Benjamin Abalos.
Abalos, on the other hand, slipped into the sunset with his name and dignity largely intact. He resigned without owning any guilt. And even if he did, the laws of man would still have accorded him that presumption of innocence, and never mind if the perceptions of many are to the contrary.
As the top honcho of the Comelec, the resignation of Abalos carried with it the symbolic exculpation of the sins, real or imagined, of his agency. Disguised and helped along by the laxative effects of ZTE, the exculpation had been less abrasive and stressful than if it had happened purely as a matter of electoral reform.
With the main man gone, those left behind in the agency, regardless of the burden on their own consciences, and regardless too of any residual perceptions that may still cling obstinately in some hardened heart of the enemy, will get to enjoy an exhilarating exculpating release.
And this augurs well for the country as a whole. With the symbolic cleansing of the Comelec, the country can at least breathe a little easier as it slowly nudges on toward the next major electoral exercise, which is in 2010 when the Philippines chooses a new president.
God, in His wisdom, also gave everyone a little more breathing space. Even those who had actively participated in the brouhaha over ZTE, for reasons that were clearly elsewhere, were gifted with a different outcome than what they had foolhardily sought but naively were unprepared for.
Many of those who were major players in the scandal, especially those who played angels calling for the heavens to part and drench the guilty to the bone, clearly cared less about whether the heavens would actually part than the exposure they got with each clap of thunder and flash of lightning.
Each one was gearing toward a showdown with himself in the limelight, with the ultimate end being the hope for acquiring enough name-recall to last till the next election. What they never knew but God all along did was that, had they gotten their immediate wish, out the window would have flown their longer-term goals.
Many of these characters had been secretly hoping to spark yet another upheaval to force the issue, not foreseeing that had turmoil ensued and a new leadership installed, there could have been a new scenario in which 2010 may no longer be a factor.
And that is the trouble with seeing only what is in front of the nose. All those with ambitions geared for 2010 were only thinking of the flashing lights and sound bytes of the moment, not anticipating that had the moment exploded, there was a very distinct possibility there will not be a 2010 to speak of anymore.
Maybe that is what God is really nurturing us for. Maybe all He really wants is a peaceful transition to a peaceful turnover of power. For how else can one explain the continued ability of President Arroyo to hold on to power.
One would have thought that a president so reviled, a woman so despised, a person so unpopular, would have toppled long ago, whether by force from the outside, or by her own accord from failure on the inside. But look, she is still there. No reason anymore suffices except that which is incomprehensible and mysterious.
Arroyo is not God’s favorite, even if that is what she may secretly hope. If God plays any favorites, it must be us, the entire Filipino nation, which has suffered so much under the weight of so many false messiahs. If the nation has not collapsed, then no reason suffices too except that which is similarly incomprehensible and mysterious.
So God does work in mysterious ways. Even the outburst of Senator Miriam Santiago against the Chinese was preordained. It laid the foundation for the scrapping of the ZTE deal. By being so offensive and hurting, it made the death of the ZTE deal seem like a bite into soft siomai.