‘No guts, no glory’

I have often found myself criticizing former President Joseph ‘Erap’ Estrada since the years he was impeached and banned from politics for the “jueteng” scandal in 2001. Star witnesses came forward and put him right in the spotlight for his wrongdoing and when the people marched against him it seemed only a right and justifiable ending that he be removed from office.

Since then, I have often thought of Erap as a bad example for future generations. A cautionary tale, if you will, that proves that if you do something wrong, eventually you will be caught and held accountable. Not to mention, I was not a fan of the supposed lifestyle he led back in the day including women, gambling, and more. On the whole, it did not sum up to what a president – or any politician for that matter – should be, especially while in office.

But then, fast-forward to a decade later and it definitely seems that all is forgiven and, in some cases, forgotten. Erap has gotten back into the political game with the aplomb of a veteran and he has proven his detractors wrong about being able to continue on the path he started those many years ago. If anything, the people love him even more now. That is one thing he has always had for sure — the people’s love. When it comes to a democratic society like ours — especially one with a short-term memory — that is hard to beat.

I many not have always been on board with the things that Erap did in his past and as our president, but I do have to admit, that no matter what anyone says about him, he was and has always been strong. He was a true leader in the sense that he stood up for himself and what he believed in and wasn’t worried about making the hard decisions that may not be easy at the time but may be the only way to provide a long and lasting solution.

One hard decision that he is being very vocal about now is that coddling the MILF is no longer going to work. Force needs to be met with equal force if any real progress is going to be made. He claimed that there can be no real peace talks when there is no trust. And the government can’t trust the rebels. He further went on to state that this problem has been over 40 years in the making and even during his tenure as president it was all about engaging in peace talks and ceasefires and the course of the conversation just went around and around and around. To quote “What happened? They continued to create havoc in Mindanao.”

And now, after the tragedy of the Fallen 44 SAF soldiers in Mamasapano, Erap along with others in the government are calling for all-out war or retribution against those responsible. They claim that this is the only way to properly respond to such atrocities because if we don’t, how will they ever take us seriously? I can definitely see where they are coming from. One has to truly question if Western style justice may be the only thing that will truly work. Go in hot, guns blazing, and hope that a strong enough message will be sent that it will never happen again.

As the United States always says – “we don’t negotiate with terrorists” — I feel that we should also not allow ourselves to go back into peace talks from a place of weakness. What happened was a tragedy and it angers me even more that it is being touted as a “mis-encounter” or a simple problem of “miscommunication” as if that makes it all okay. At the end of the day, men were slaughtered where they stand and some of them even had their bodies desecrated against all human rights laws. If we are to just let this slide in the name of achieving peace then we are only kidding ourselves and buying that fake peace with blood on our hands.

It’s a very delicate moment for the government right now. They want to maintain the “progress” they feel they have made in the peace talks, however they can’t just go back in and pretend like nothing happened. If they do it will be like a dog with its tail between its legs proving that we are giving the MILF far more leeway and power than we should. If they are made to feel that they can get away with this without being held accountable what will stop them from committing bigger and even worse crimes in the future? They will feel invincible and if that is the case then the Philippines will certainly look like a haven to international terrorists the world over.

I am angry about what happened and my heart breaks for all the innocent lives lost – on both sides of the fence. However, I don’t believe in letting my hope for peace allow me to be okay with sweeping this incident under the rug, as we are known to do. Justice must be served first. I don’t believe that peace talks are completely dead, but I do think that we cannot continue with them until some action has been taken regarding the Fallen 44. An impartial investigation must be done and answers must be found. If both sides are truly hoping for real and lasting peace than they will make sure that those responsible are held accountable – whether it be rebel MILF soldiers or those responsible for the “miscommunication.”

Perhaps it’s too early to go to war, but we have to be prepared to be strong. We can no longer accept half-answers or half-truths, and for the love of justice, no fall guys or scapegoats please. We have to be vigilant and go after those truly responsible. When those who did this awful deed are made to pay – to truly be held accountable – then and only then can we even begin to revisit peace talks that are built on trust and mutual respect.