RECLAIMING OUR NATION

by: Dr. Minguita Padilla

I voted for Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Not only did I vote for her, I believe that I actually contributed in a definite way to her campaign, small as this may have been.

I voted for President Arroyo, not so much because I was convinced she was the best of the lot; but more because of fear. I feared that a vote against her would be a vote for Fernando Poe, Jr. who, at that time, I believed to be the greater evil; not so much because of his person who history has since judged to have been a good man with a noble heart and a sincere desire to serve our country.

No. Like many, I feared FPJ because of his inexperience and especially because of many of the people behind him who history had already shown to be opportunists who would take advantage of even the most noble of intentions to achieve the darkest of deeds. I voted defensively.

However, it was a defensive vote that carried with it the hope that by giving Gloria Arroyo a clear and true mandate, she would perform as a good president should; with only the best interest of our nation and its people in mind. I did it for love of country.

But the events of the last several months, especially those of the last month, have been enough to almost cause me to throw in the towel and declare, like so many of our countrymen, that indeed we are a hopeless nation. It is only the fighter and the dreamer in me that makes me hold on.

We are a battered people; battered by administration after administration that has betrayed our dreams and shot down our hopes since we fought for our freedom in EDSA I. It is a "learned helplessness" that seems to have taken over the majority of our people, now grown cynical and numb in the face of scandal afters candal that has rocked the last two administrations. But we cannot allow anyone to rob us of hope. We do that and we loose everything.

Shocking as they may be, the latest jueteng scandal now being investigated in the Senate as well as the taped phone conversations of the President that allegedly point to her giving instructions to a Comelec official to cheat during the last elections; are but the symptoms of a cancer that has slowly and insidiously taken over our land and our people simply because we have allowed it to: namely corruption.

A cancer is like a monster. Feed it and indulge it long enough, and it grows to unmanageable proportions so that one day, the food you give it will no longer suffice and the monster ends up devouring the very person who feeds it. This is the very principal that has led many of the jueteng lords and operators to finally comeout and turn state witness. They are now apparently seeking to turn a new leaf because the payola to their "protectors" in government has grown so big that it has come to a point where the profits they make are no longer worth the risk and the burden on their conscience.

Cancers, monsters, and corrupt public officials; they are all the same. They are driven by an insatiable hunger that ultimately consumes everything, including them.

The fact that the greed of our corrupt public officials on "the take" from jueteng operations has grown exponentially during the last four years points to a total lack of political will to stop this practice. For an administration that came into power because of the outrage of our people upon learning that its president then was on "the take"from this illegal numbers game, this fact is not only dismal, it reeksof a grave betrayal of public trust.

Should the taped conversation prove to be authentic, the brazen way the instructions for cheating were being given by the President to a Comelec official is again a symptom of how blasé we have become as a nation to corruption such that the Head of State and an official trusted to safeguard our votes would think nothing of mocking one of the most sacred rights of our people.

And even sadder is that very few groups save those with vested interests, are publicly demanding to get to the bottom of this serious charge. Could it be because we are still stunned at what we are witnessing? Or could it be that we have descended to such abysmal depths as a nation that we are no longer capable of outrage?

We are in another major crossroads and we, citizens of good will who have not yet given up hope, must reclaim our nation. We must complete the unfinished EDSA I revolution that lacked an essential element; namely a transformation of heart. We do nothing now and we may again see our country held hostage by yet another group of people only too eager to oust the present regime just so that they can do exactly what they are condemning the present leadership for.

We need to be united as a nation during these difficult times. But it cannot be a "unity" that is achieved at the expense of truth and justice; a unity that simply helps to propagate all that is wrong withour present system. If we must be united let it be in demanding that our leadership set things straight and stop skirting issues by fighting accusations only with counter-accusations.

Let us demand that we be given the truth for a change. We have turned a blind eye long enough and this is where it has led us.

Like most Filipinos, I so desire to see our country get back on the right path. I wish to see the sanctity of the ballot protected, the dignity of our institutions restored, our constitution respected, and our nation's soul reclaimed. I am not a destabilizer. I am simply aFilipino who refuses to give up hope.

I therefore beg the presidentto submit these taped telephone conversations for authentication by independent, international agencies. Nothing good will come from leaving it all to the NBI. At this point, even they are suspect. If the version wherein she is speaking to the Comelec official is proven false, then everybody stands to gain. She would be vindicated and we would perhaps learn how to trust again.

However, should it be proven authentic then she would be guilty of an impeachable offense. Should this be the case then she should do what is decent and best for our country. She must step down.

Dr. Minguita Padilla, Founder and President of the Eye Bank, is also President of Sinag, a People's Crusade for Good Governance. She is also a consultant of the Department of Ophthalmology, UP-PGH. Email: minguita@pacific.net.ph.