Hate, excesses, and pork

The successful and uneventful departure of Senator Jinggoy Estrada for the United States last Saturday was a big slap in the face of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who had wanted Estrada's passport canceled along with those of fellow senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Bong Revilla.

The three senators have been implicated in the celebrated Janet Napoles pork barrel mess but have not yet been charged, much less formally investigated. But to de Lima, mere implication is enough basis for her to ask that they be prevented from leaving the country.

It is unfortunate indeed that the secretary of justice herself should be so ignorant of the law. But then ignorance is just an inconvenience. She can actually do whatever she wants, or fail trying, for as long as the targets of her deeds, or misdeeds, are sworn enemies of her boss.

Noynoy Aquino, for whom more Filipinos voted against in the 2010 elections and is therefore a minority president, is resolutely embarked on a presidency of hatred and will stop at nothing to see that his enemies all end up behind bars, or die in hospital arrest.

The pork barrel mess over which Estrada, Enrile and Revilla have been implicated is the type of mess that is impossible to limit to just the opposition. Whichever way you look at it -- at the heart of the matter, in the eyes of God, on the lips of people, and in the way the cookie crumbles -- it involves almost everyone.

It defies all logic to insist that while the opposition, which ought to be outside the pale as far as the good graces of Malacañang are concerned, can find their way to the cookie jar, the members of Noynoy's own Liberal Party cannot. But that is the story being spun in the grand deception to skewer only the opposition.

And that is why there are no co-starring roles for other senators and congressmen. The drama is only of, for, and by the opposition. If you belong to the Noynoy administration, you can do nothing wrong. You are made of Teflon. Nothing sticks on you.

That is what makes this whole campaign against pork so obnoxious, that while there is some unity in public aversion to it, there is dismay in the way it is being shepherded and carried out, which is to target no one else but the opposition.

Why it has taken so long to file charges against the opposition, I do not know. But I suspect that de Lima et al are actually biding their own sweet time in dragging the opposition publicly before the fire so that if they cannot be convicted in the courts, at least they are already damaged goods in the public eye.

This is how this minority government operates. This is how the son of the supposed icons of democracy has it all played out in his head. Just grab the opposition and stick them up with popular charges that people cannot ignore, like the pork barrel.

Whether the charges stick or not is of no moment to Noynoy and his ilk. What is important is that his enemies get skewered over the fire. This is the core principle of Noynoy's presidency of hate. It is not about justice. It is not about the rule of law. It is not about fairness. It is about being the only man standing.

And Noynoy may just get what he wants despite the shaky foundation of his rule. That is because the people themselves do not know any better. They hate the pork only when it is stolen and ends in somebody else's pockets. How quickly they forget having salivated after it when they were still its beneficiaries.

And that is why this supposed anger over pork cannot rise high enough to topple anything and bring about meaningful change. Indeed any outcome from such an infirm and self-serving anger should be greatly feared instead.

You know indignation is half-baked when it is able to tolerate its own imperfections. It is tolerance such as this that allows people to look the other way when Noynoy sycophants like de Lima make a travesty of the law and do things to other people solely on the basis of hatred.

People are so consumed by hate for pork, or at least the part of it that is not for their own benefit, that they cannot see what excesses and abuses are being committed in its name, such as the cancellation of the passports of people who have not been charged, must less found guilty, of any offense.

What de Lima is doing to Estrada, Enrile and Revilla, she found inspiration in what she did to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. De Lima had Arroyo stopped at the airport even if she was free to go because she knew people hated her so much they forget she too had rights. Only later would a judge be found to legalize everything.