Conflict brings out character.
When President Noynoy Aquino announced that there would be no State Funeral for Ferdinand Marcos during his term, Senator Bongbong Marcos immediately went ballistic and launched a verbal criticism at P-Noy.
The Senator who was understandably disappointed and frustrated accused the President of having no word of honor and for “leading on” the northern alliance and Marcos followers.
Unfortunately for Bongbong Marcos his accusations pale in comparison to almost two decades of Martial law, for the very personal and cruel acts committed against then Senator Ninoy Aquino and his family, and the rest of the Filipino nation.
My own father, the late Louie Beltran landed in jail and was in jail while his mother suffered her first attack, and I was bedridden due to a spinal injury. For four years my father struggled jobless until he got the humbling position of “Director” for the UP printing press.
We lost all our cars, a vast gun collection that was meant to go to the first gun museum in the Philippines, we sold personal effects, and ultimately we sold half of our family property. Ultimately, Martial law took its toll on the marriage of my parents.
But all that pales in comparison to the people who suffered physical and mental torture. Seventeen years of being unable to practice one’s profession is a mere scratch compared to people who lost loved ones simply because it was Martial law.
Reflecting on such a dark period this much I can say to Senator Bongbong Marcos.
As a Christian I released all of that and time and again have shook hands with you with sincerity. We never sought compensation, we simply moved on. As a civilized nation and people, voters have elected you to national office, as your supporters restored your family to positions of leadership.
But let not all this fool you into believing that we can now think, like nothing ever happened.
Much has happened to our nation and our people because of Martial Law, there is much to be sorry for, and perhaps to express regret over. Only by recognizing that can we truly bury, not only your father, but perhaps some if not all of the pain caused by martial law.
If you truly aspire for national reconciliation then seek it. Don’t demand for honors that mean nothing to the dead. Instead honor the suffering of many by recognizing their scars, their wounds, as well as their dead.
We do not choose the circumstance of our birth and many of us have no choice what others have caused or written, but we have the choice if we wish to correct what ever was done wrong.
Only by God’s grace can you do this.
* * *
If Judges are fined or removed from office for gross ignorance of the law, what punishment awaits the Justice or Justices of the Supreme Court who made the monumental mistake concerning the “illegal retrenchment” case against PAL?
If this were Japan or some noble state, it would be safe to assume that we will find a former officer of the court splattered on the front of a bullet train or a disemboweled Justice sprawled on white pebble stones under a weeping willow.
But this is the Philippines and chances are they will say sorry and then tell us to move on or be held in contempt of the Supreme Court.
I wonder how quickly we will be able to move on, considering how vocal and direct people have been regarding the action of the Supreme Court en banc to recall a decision that was deemed final. The recall itself has become highly controversial but how will the court decide on the case knowing that a contrary decision could be the match that sets the Supreme Court in flames?
At this juncture, the Supreme Court will need to publicly “flog” or harshly punish the author of the grave mistake. Only by doing so can the Supreme Court prove that they as a whole were not party to the decision and that as a consequence even they are now suffering under a cloud of suspicion.
Truth be told, the Supreme Court is suffering a serious image problem. While it has managed to dodge the bullet called “Impeachment”, its credibility has suffered no thanks to allegations that they are a “Gloria court” as well as the accusations of plagiarism.
That in part is what has made the PAL case look like the straw that may break the camels back.
For years people and litigants have talked behind closed doors about hoodlums in robes and how certain “super lawyers” were in fact Overlords of the Supreme Court, but all that have always just been “talk”.
This week I was shocked at the boldness of certain radio commentators who fearlessly asked: “How much?” What new evidence merited the recall?
In the end, only two things could possibly cool down the negative public sentiment. Someone has to own up and offer his or her resignation due to ignorance, or the Supreme Court calls for a marathon hearing on the case and arrive at the same conclusion that the confused Justices originally decided.
In the eyes of the Justices, they are doing the right thing based on procedure. But in the eyes of the people and in the court of public opinion, something is very wrong with the Supreme Court.