Diliman Way
with Homobono A. Adaza
“Anyone who does not know how to be
President on his first day of office will
never learn till the end of his term.”
-Henry Kissinger, one of USA’s
best Secretary of State
Unfortunately for us in the Philippines, we have had a number of Presidents who are perfect examples of the statement of Kissinger – Corazon Aquino, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Benigno Simeon Aquino III and Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
As Roman Catholic, I often wondered – what have we done to deserve this kind of punishment? As a believer though, I blame myself and others like me – and we number millions – for our current state of affairs. We are a bunch of cowards with moronic orientation to tolerate this state of affairs.
Consultation: I was not a bit surprised to hear President Digong calling for a meeting of former Presidents to discuss with them the issue of the West Philippine (WPS). This is a natural for President D whenever he is beleaguered by public responses to his irrational position on the issue. Obviously, this is a grope in the dark idea.
What will he learn from these former Presidents except ignorance and more ignorance on the issue? None of them are lawyers. None of them are students of the Constitution. None of them are students of international law. None of them is an authority on international relations. All of them though are authority on relations other than international relations. So that will be a conclave of the blind – the blind leading the ranks of blind men and women even if once upon a time they have been Presidents of the Philippines.
Explanation: You may ask me – why do I say that the meeting is useless and unproductive? Useless because all of them will agree with the irrational and unpatriotic position of President D on the issue considering they are not experts on the subject neither are they interested in the welfare of the people of our country as shown by their behavior when they were Presidents.
Let us examine each one of them starting with PRESIDENT ERAP. This man does not know the Constitution and the governing law. He is a master though on the issue of relations with women but that is not the issue on the WPS. He is also an expert on gambling that is why he was convicted for plunder. All of his expertise is of no use to Duterte, if he wants intelligent guidance.
What about PRESIDENT GLORIA, popularly known as GMA? Her expertise is the manipulation of the electoral process as demonstrated in the Hello Garci Tape; similar to President Erap where in a televised interview beamed from Baguio City when asked about her love life, she said, she had plenty; and her experience in foreign relations could be best remembered with her rumored encounter with Bill Clinton when they were students at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where Bill supposedly taught Gloria how to drink fluid from a bamboo tube.. She has nothing to contribute by way of fixing the problem at the WPS.
And PRESIDENT NOYNOY, President Digong’s Siamese twin, what can he contribute to resolving the issue on the WPS? He can contribute nothing since his experience is limited to the following – losing to his nephew, Joshua, every time he plays computer games with him; charge of treason in his relationship with the MILF; and as great interpreter of silahis – which means his by day and sila by night.
So the only possible motive of President D to hold a meeting with ex-Presidents is to have all the blind men and woman agree with his irrational and unpatriotic stand on the WPS issue. This is the best example of the usual search by President D for solutions to national problems.
Desperation: President D is pushed into a corner by the people who totally disagree with him on his handling of the WPS problem. He needs authoritative support so the past Presidents, in a sense, come in handy to legitimize his position. No way can this approach do it as his position is indefensible. The mistakes of other Presidents cannot validate an irrational, erroneous and unpatriotic position. His current stand can only be validated by junking the UN Arbitral Tribunal decision or for him to negotiate with corona virus Xi Jinping for the Philippines to become a communist China province with President D as permanent governor and the position to be inherited by his children.
The validation is too grim to contemplate. It does not help the country and the Filipino people. It only helps President D, his fanatics, corona virus Xi Jinping, Communist China and the Communist Party and the Chinese communists as well as the overseas Chinese in our midst who would be jumping with joy in the fulfillment of making legal their long desired dream of treating Filipinos like slaves in their own country as what they are doing now. The only difference is that as of now, the situation is de facto. If we become a province of China, the enslavement will become de jure.
The remedy: President D is in the habit of talking about destiny. Immediately after his election, he credited destiny as the magic wand that propelled him to the presidency. It could be right to do that at the point in time. Thereafter, destiny has nothing to do with his performance. Everything is up to him. He cannot fault destiny for his failures. He has only himself to blame.
His position on the WPS issue is not only treasonous – it is treason. It is also impeachable. While he has still time, he should reverse gear. He should not be afraid of corona virus Xi Jinping. He should be afraid of the Filipino people. He should be terrified at the prospect of being ousted by the people like his idol Ferdinand Edralin Marcos.
True the opportunistic military, police and his fanatics are following him like his slaves for the moment. But you can never be sure about tomorrow. There is such a thing as a tipping point. That was true with Marcos. That was true with Erap. That could be true with him.
On the other hand, if President D leads our people to fight Communist China and corona virus Xi Jinping in all fronts on the WPS issue – diplomatic, media and letting our meager military forces mount the proper positioning at the West Philippine Sea, we will not only overcome, as Nobel Prize Winner William Faulkner would have it, we will prevail.
If that happens, he will not only get the support and approval of the international community. People will forget his errors in the past and of the present. As of now, he is heel and his journey to oblivion is at a break neck speed till the end. There is no legacy to talk about. But if President D reverses himself and mount the offensive, he will end up as a hero in our time.
But is President D capable of reversing himself? Only time will tell. And he does not have much time. HAA
PHILIPPINE MUSLIM TODAY 