Payback
There is a popular Facebook posting that has been doing the rounds for some time now: “Karma. No need for revenge. Just sit back and wait. Those who hurt you will eventually screw up themselves and if you’re lucky, God will let you watch.” The thought seems to provide comfort if not pleasure for those that have experienced the pain of being maligned, betrayed and wronged at some point in their lives, whether deserved or not.
The desire for vengeance has universal appeal. Acting on the craving however, is an individual choice. Some justify violence, a handful savor their anger and keep it simmering for a lifetime, while others look up to heaven and leave it to God. For most, forgiving is easier than forgetting. But it has been said that Filipinos have a short memory. Is it possible though, that as a people challenged by the demands of day-to-day survival, we may forget, but not necessarily forgive?
Three national surveys confirm that Filipinos rate Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as the most corrupt, worst-performing President since 1986. And in a recent TV Patrol survey, 83 percent disagreed that GMA should be allowed to leave the country for medical treatment. Business organizations which were generally content with the economic programs of Arroyo, now want accountability for the alleged corruption perpetuated during her term.
Feisty DOJ Sec. Leila de Lima is being cajoled one moment and harassed the next by Arroyo’s camp to allow GMA to leave even if she is considered a flight risk and the gravity of her medical condition may be exaggerated. The Philippine Medical Association has issued a statement attesting that “there are many experts on metabolic bone illnesses in the Philippines, contrary to the pronouncement of Arroyo’s camp... bone biopsy, which Arroyo also reportedly needs, is a regular procedure done almost daily in the Philippines.”
GMA’s minions have accused De Lima of prolonging the decision in order to gain more mileage for her future senatorial bid. But the surveys already give the DOJ Secretary top marks and the election is still too far-off. It is more likely that the arrogance of power-past remains undiminished even on bended knees.
One of the most rabid GMA defenders is Atty. Raul Lambino. Yes the same guy who in 2004 founded Lawyers for Electoral Advocacy and Democracy (LEAD) to support Fernando Poe Jr.’s presidential campaign. He was one of the most vocal protesters against the massive electoral fraud supposedly orchestrated by GMA against FPJ. Since then, he has displayed amazing flexibility. One wonders what karmic retribution awaits those who change allegiances like underwear.
As quickly as FPJ’s untimely demise, in 2005 GMA appointed Lambino twice as a member of two commissions on Charter Change. Under EO 453, he joined the Consultative Commission (Con-Com) with a P10 million funding, and the Charter Change Advocacy Commission (Ad Com) with a P5 million fund, in 2006.
On February 2006, Lambino teamed up with Erico Aumentado to gather signatures to amend the 1987 Constitution. On August 2006, they filed a petition with COMELEC to hold a plebiscite that will validate their initiative under RA 6735 or the Initiative and Referendum Act. They proposed to transform the current Bicameral-Presidential system into a Unicameral-Parliamentary form of government. It was generally seen as a thinly-veiled attempt to install GMA as the Prime Minister and extend her nine-year term even longer.
Lambino claimed that they gathered 6,327,952 signatures or 12 percent , with at least three percent of its registered voters representing every legislative district. He avowed that these were verified by election registrars. COMELEC denied the petition for lack of an enabling law governing initiative petitions to amend the Constitution. Unfazed, Lambino appealed to the Supreme Court then under CJ Reynato Puno but failed to get a favorable ruling.
Ah, the Supreme Court. The question in many minds is why hasn’t Corona’s Tribunal acted with their usual haste to overturn DOJ’s watch list order on GMA as they did for Mike Arroyo. Could it be that the High Court is now super-sensitive about reinforcing an Arroyo-court image? Or could CJ Corona’s zero trust rating be so grating, he now thinks twice before supporting his patroness outright, or wrong as the case maybe.
The Supreme Court is in the classic Catch-22 situation with no happy ending in sight. If it reverses DOJ to allow GMA to leave the country, it will surely make the label stick, and Corona’s ratings might plunge even lower. There is no good solution or resolution possible in this case, no way for the Supreme Court to come out on top. It’s a no-win dilemma — damned if they do, damned if they don’t. So the High Court better stir clear of the issue and hope that it will not be elevated to the “last bastion of democracy”.
The theory of Karma is a fundamental doctrine in Buddhism and Hinduism. It is the law of moral causation. Believers support this cosmic principle of Theosophy where each person brings upon himself inevitable results, good or bad, reward or punishment either in this life or the next — according to his deeds and misdeeds.
It is tempting to suppose that God will allow us to watch those who have not lived by their oaths get their just deserts. Hypoparathyroidism, negative trust and performance ratings, and a black spot in history could be the beginning of settling the score. It certainly gives momentary bliss to think that offenders will not get away with it.
But as trite as it sounds, the best revenge is for every citizen to live well and succeed, despite the damage that some bad leaders have inflicted on our collective psyche. The most satisfying way to get even is to regain our sense of right and wrong, to elect, have faith and support good leaders who will not betray public trust. Right now, President Aquino enjoys the trust of 7 out of 10 Filipinos. This popularity must be more painful to bear than any medical condition, imagined or real.
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