REMEMBER the three monkeys who could see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil? Well, DILG Secretary Mar Roxas, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and AFP Chief of Staff Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. were pretty much like those monkeys, unable or unwilling to remember what they knew about the impending massacre of the SAF commandoes and who among them briefed the President about it.
Resigned PNP chief Alan Purisima, on the other hand, was like a gorilla, clumsily washing his hands of any responsibility for the tragedy. He might as well have invoked the 5th when he asked permission to get clearance from Aquino before he answered the question about the latter’s knowledge of the ongoing slaughter.
But the worst part is how Noynoy Aquino – the President of the country, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and “father figure” of 100 million Filipinos – has receded into a room in Malacañang apparently hoping that the bogey man will eventually go away.
For several days now, Aquino has maintained an uneasy silence, perhaps guided by the adage, “No talk, no mistake.”
The sight of the NEDA board members and Aquino praying for divine guidance, which appeared in the dailies, was nauseating. Trade Secretary Gregorio Domingo’s prayer – “We commend to you our President. Please continue to give him the strength to leads us through this difficult time” – was a sham.
This President has been exposed as a weakling, a weaseler, a complete neophyte in dealing with a crisis. To expect him to muster the “strength” to lead the country through “this difficult time” is a joke.
But the joke will eventually be on the Filipino people, particularly the 44 SAF troopers who were butchered and plundered in Mamasapano, as well as their families.
Past experience with equally monumental scandals exploding in our benighted country has followed a pattern. To paraphrase Macbeth, “Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
At the outset, everyone cries for blood, the media go to town exposing the alleged culprits, the Senate and the House of Representatives conduct hearings, the bishops demand retribution and FaceBook and Twitter are awash with sarcastic postings and calls for a virtual uprising.
Malacañang’s propaganda machinery circles the wagons. The public figure at the center of the controversy – in this case, Aquino – is surrounded by apologists and spokesmen, as well as sycophants like Antonio Trillions, and they issue reassuring statements to the effect that the government is determined to get to the bottom of the problem. Trillanes has, in fact, already absolved Aquino – as if his opinion counts.
A red herring, like the one foisted by Trillanes, about a planned coup, is added to the cauldron of intrigue, to draw attention away from the issue of Aquino’s accountability.
The anger of the public is expressed by such dependables as Miriam Defensor-Santiago. By castigating Purisima and others involved in the tragedy, Santiago enabled the public to vicariously let off steam.
That’s all our people need. To be able to let off steam. Once that is done, we invariably cool off and turn our attention to other concerns.
Typically, after a few weeks, the fury begins to dissipate. The Filipinos’ legendary capacity to get over their anger and to subsequently forget what it was they were angry about begins to set in.
The controlled media begin to feed mitigating stories to soothe the public’s outrage. Another monumental scandal is exploded that diverts attention from the current one and the whole cycle of fury followed by a cooling off followed by forgetfulness takes effect.
As I write this, I understand that the Senate hearing presided over by Grace Poe has been terminated, except for an “executive session,” which is a euphemism for a cover-up.
Poe comported herself quite well, but it was obvious that she and the other senators had no intention of getting to the bottom of the tragedy. Otherwise, they would have invited Aquino to face the committee (he would, of course, have refused, but at least the committee would have tried). They would also have probed the alleged involvement of US military elements in the incident, including the presence of a drone and the prompt submission of the finger of Marwan to the FBI.
If a tragedy of the magnitude of the Mamasapano massacre were to happen in Pakistan or South Korea, there would be hell to pay. But it won’t happen in our country. Our bark is worse than our bite.
It took us centuries to become outraged enough to mount a revolution in earnest. It took the assassination of Ninoy Aquino and the dogged determination of Cardinal Sin and ATOM to get people angry enough to demand the ouster of Marcos.
But it took the survival skills and leadership of Juan Ponce Enrile and Fidel V. Ramos to mount the People Power Revolution.
Does anyone still remember the “Million People March” provoked by the pork barrel scandal? After three senators had been indicted and incarcerated, we have heard very little of it.
On the anniversary of the People Power Revolt, I understand that “thousands of concerned and enraged citizens” will converge at EDSA. I have no doubt that there will be a large number of truly dedicated citizens who will join that rally or demonstration. But give it a few weeks and the fervor will once again die down.
Give or take a month, expect Aquino to emerge from his bunker to make a heroic statement about the economy, public works projects,Tuwid na Daan and a package of benefits for the families of the 44 commandoes.. The controlled media will dutifully run these stories.
Meanwhile the designated scape goat in this tragedy, SAF Director Getulio Napeñas, will probably be given a more sympathetic hearing. But this will likely happen outside the view of media.
Soon preparations for the 2016 presidential elections will occupy the power brokers in government, as well as the entire citizenry, and the saga of the “Fallen 44” will fade from memory.
Sad.
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