Rehobongbong?

“May you caress the heart of my brother, the President of the Philippines. Open his eyes and give him clarity of thought and remind him not to leave the fate of the country to those who are greedy and hungry for attention. Wake him up and keep him away from the devils.” – Senator Imee Marcos

Senator Imee Marcos went on to share that Malacañang has long been a snake pit, recalling her younger days at the Palace when influence peddlers and brokers and power seekers walked around Malacañang. I don’t know if the senator was merely putting spiritual content into her political concern, but from the looks of it, the President is clearly not getting the best out of his team or the wisest counsel from people around him.

The curse of political appointment is that you lose your courage to speak the truth to power and eventually your integrity and self-respect. After that the system eats you. Unfortunately, relatives, major campaign contributors and members of a fictional golfing mafia apparently have more access to the President than actual professional experts.

This is a far cry from the days of presidents past, especially Ferdinand Marcos Sr. who relied on real technocrats, true experts and international diplomats, hard-nosed military and police officers and a circle of shrewd influential politicians who had as much intellect as well as firepower in the days of “guns, goons and gold.”

Nowadays, the Kamag-Anak/Ka-Barkada, May Ka-Kilala and Ka-Verde are the ones often in the President’s company. Check out various guest lists, list of participants, list of invited guests and the official presidential party on trips abroad and you will quickly figure out the who’s who in the current administration. The problem is most of them can’t compare to their titos and titas in previous administrations as far as intellect and suave are concerned. Today’s Malacañang regulars are far from discreet, are poor liars and certifiably dishonest.

Today’s column title is a combination of two names: Rehoboam and Bongbong = RehoBongbong. Rehoboam was the son and successor of King Solomon. Upon becoming king of Israel, the northern tribes appealed to Rehoboam to lighten the burdens imposed by King Solomon. Rehoboam consulted the elders (advisers) of King Solomon and they advised him to “serve the people and lighten their burdens and they will be your servants forever.”

But he rejected the advice and turned to the young men who had grown up with him and they told Rehoboam to get tough and threaten the people, which Rehoboam did – and that resulted in the northern tribes seceding from Rehoboam’s kingdom.

Many modern thought leaders and motivational mentors tell us that we become the sum total of the five persons closest to us or whom we spend time with. Others say to be careful of who we allow to sneak into our life. The best one comes from the Book of Proverbs: “There is wisdom in the counsel of many and he who keeps company with the wise will be wise.” But in the end, the President “must stand for something or he will fall for anything.”

From the very beginning, PBBM displayed Rehoboam-like tendencies. He tried his best to surround himself with top caliber Cabinet members, but his posse were his cousin, kamag-anak and barkada from the good old days. Instead of consulting experts as well as members of traditional media, he opted to use social media to project himself as modern as today’s social media influencers. He puts so much effort into delivering his speeches, as if trying to be as good as Apo Ferdie. But the difference between an orator and a speech reader is obvious.

This is not to say that PBBM has not done well; I am merely saying that people believe he can do so much better by being his own man, being clear about his views and position and not being overly influenced by a very small and under-qualified crew of “influencers” like Rehoboam and end up losing his political base.

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Senator Imee Marcos’ reference to “devils in Malacañang” may be political, but consider the reminder of St. Paul the Apostle in Ephesians 6:12: “For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Many Filipinos have read this passage so many times, but many priests and preachers make the mistake of not explaining the first part and focusing on the last sentence about the “fight against spiritual forces.”

Today’s fight is not physical, it is moral, spiritual and political. The people’s enemies don’t come out in the open showing what they are doing. The people’s enemies are not individuals but groups, families, political parties, corrupted politicians, religious groups, people banded together by ideology or a leader and crime bosses such as gambling lords and political overlords that control provinces and regions as well as government agencies, officials and even the police and the military.

Right now, all the political disturbance in the country is being caused by politicians, power hungry, immature persons who have not learned from lessons of the past and carry on with their sense of entitlement because of their family name, political dynasty or who they are married to. Then we have individuals driven by the profit motive, corrupt government officials and employees and corrupt business owners who don’t want to follow the rules, wait in line or pay their share to government.

We can no longer stay quiet, docile or selfishly indifferent. We must speak out, call out as well as pray for God’s will and justice to fall upon our nation. We have been in this situation before. Remember that!